


Lily

by im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Ashton is protective, Best Friends, Blow Jobs, Bonding, Bottom Luke, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cake secret, Calum is smart, Confused Luke Hemmings, Cute Kids, Cute Luke, Cute Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings, Dad Ashton, Drama, Emotional Conflict, Falling In Love Over Again, Family, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Heartbreak, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Mpreg, Love, Luke Is A Single Dad, M/M, Married Ashton, Michael Clifford Loves Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings Fluff, Michael is cute, Minor Bryana Holly/Ashton Irwin, Mixed feelings, Muke - Freeform, Parent-Child Relationship, Past Relationship(s), Reunions, Smut, The Hemmings Family - Freeform, Top Michael, Unresolved Emotional Tension, dad luke, parent 5sos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2018-06-06 21:39:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 49,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6771256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance/pseuds/im_just_a_sucker_for_bromance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke and Michael, they used to be boyfriends, lovers and each other’s world. Michael did not know whether those things really existed but he used to think Luke was his soulmate and that they completed each other; that was until Luke left without saying anything.<br/>After many years, Luke had decided to come back home but he did not come alone; he brought along a cute little girl, named Lily. When he suddenly came across Michael, the feelings that he had forgotten started to come back. Will he be able to ignore them? Or let his heart decide for him?<br/>Although many years passed, Michael had never really been able to be with anyone else because his heart has always beat for Luke. Meeting Luke again was like a second chance to save what had been lost; he wanted to get close to Luke. Will Luke allow him into his world again? Or was it just him and Lily?</p><div class="center">
  <p> </p>
  <p>    <img/><br/></p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	1. Back To Where We Started

With a bright smile on his lips, Luke bent down and picked up the little girl, who was running in his direction, before spinning them both around, causing her to erupt into giggles. When he finally stopped, he placed a kiss to the side of her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

“Hey Princess, how was first day of school?” Luke smiled as he stroked her cheek lightly, with the back of his fingers.

“It was good. I made a friend,” Lily smiled.

“Really?”

“Yes. My sandwich fell and he shared his lunch with me. He is very nice. His name is Alex.”

“That was very sweet of him. Where is he? I want to meet him.”

“There.”

Luke turned around on his heels to look in the direction that Lily was pointing in. There was a boy of her age, who was laughing and high fiving with a man, who was kneeling in front of him, ‘probably his father’, Luke thought to himself. Without wasting time, he walked towards them, with Lily still in his arms; he did not want them to leave before he had the chance to thank Alex.

“Alex?” Luke called as he looked at the boy, who looked up at him. “Lily told me you shared your lunch with her. That was very nice of you. Thank you.”

At the sound of Luke’s voice, the man, who was still on his knees, slowly got to his feet and spun around at an equally slow pace. Luke stared at him when his eyes landed on him as if he had seen a ghost. He stayed frozen on the spot as his eyes stayed glued on his face; it was such a familiar face, yet one that he had not seen in years.

“Michael?” he said in a barely audible whisper.

“Luke?” Michael mumbled, without breaking the eye contact between them, a connection that was lasting for much longer than it should have.

“Mimi,” Alex said as he tugged on Michael’s hand that he was already holding. “You promised to get me an ice-cream.”

Michael momentarily looked down at the little boy before turning his attention back to Luke. “Yeah, one moment.”

“Hi,” Luke smiled awkwardly.

“Hey, it’s… it’s been a long time. Your daughter?” Michael motioned towards Lily.

“Yeah,” Luke again smiled.

“She’s pretty…”

“Your little boy is cute too.”

“Oh no,” Michael rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “That’s Ashton’s son. He’s sick and I’m picking this little guy up.”

“I can see the resemblance,” Luke pointed out as he looked at his messy and wavy blonde hair and his greenish eyes, he even had the dimples.

Alex tugged on Michael’s hand again. “I… huh… I gotta go…”

“Yeah…” he nodded as Michael walked away.

“Who is he, daddy?”

“Just an old friend,” Luke mumbled as he walked away with Lily.

Michael walked briskly towards his car, causing Alex to fall into a little jog beside him. After ushering Alex in, he got inside and gripped the steering wheel tightly as he let out a few deep breaths. Out of everyone he could have met, he met Luke; Luke, the one he had least expected to ever meet again. Suddenly, memories that he had tried to forget and banish, and buried in the farthest and most inaccessible part of his brain all came back to him. He remembered how things used to be in the past, six years ago to be exact. Things used to be different back then. Back in those days, Ashton, Calum, Luke and himself, used to be best friends. When they were at school, the other kids used to call them weirdos but they never really cared because they had one another and that was what mattered. Through the years, their friendship had grown deeper and it was like they were essential parts of each other’s lives, with Luke occupying a special spot.

Luke and him, they used to be boyfriends, lovers and each other’s world. He could still remember every touch, every kiss they had shared, every moment they had spent laughing, bantering and most importantly loving one another. He did not know whether those things really existed but he used to think Luke was his soulmate and that they completed each other. Calum and Ashton always used to tease them but they knew it was all in good fun and their other two friends never meant anything bad. Luke, the boy who was the first thing on Michael’s mind in the morning and the last thing on his mind at night, the boy who could always bring a smile to Michael’s lips, the boy who could always light up Michael’s day like a ray of sunlight; it used to be perfect, until Luke left without saying anything to him or to anyone else. That was when Michael realised, good things never lasted forever, at least not for everyone and he was definitely not among those lucky ones.

“Mimi, are you alright?” Alex asked as he placed a hand on Michael’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine,” Michael smiled at the boy, who was in the backseat.

“Are you sure? Dad said if I come across someone who is sweating and breathing heavy and not talking for long time, I should call for help from a grown up. Do I call…”

“Alex, I’m alright,” Michael laughed as he ruffled the boy’s hair. “How about we get that ice-cream and then get you home? Ashton must be waiting.”

“But I don’t to go home. I want to go with you,” Alex stated on a whiny tone.

“Not today, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because you have to go to school tomorrow and your dad’s not gonna like it if I make you skip school.”

“But I want to go with you,” the little blonde boy argued.

Michael turned to face the boy and cupped the side of his face, realising he was much warmer than usual. “Hey, you know what? Let’s forget the ice-cream and go straight home. Then first thing on Saturday morning, I’ll pick you up and we can spend the whole day together. How about that?”

“Then we’ll go to your house and build a fort with blankets?” Alex asked expectantly.

“Yeah, we could do that if you’re a good boy,” Michael smiled.

“Promise?”

“Pinkie promise,” he held out his little finger and hooked it with Alex’s before finally starting the car. “So, that little girl, who is she?”

“She’s called Lily.”

“She’s your friend?”

“No, she came to school for the first time today.”

Michael hummed as he thought about it. “Were you nice to her?”

“Yes,” Alex smiled brightly. “I shared my lunch with her.”

“You’re sweet, just like Ashton.”

“Do you know her?” Alex asked as he pulled a lollipop out of his backpack and popped it into his mouth.

“No,” Michael shook his head lightly. “But I used to know his dad.”

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

“Daddy,” Lily said as she walked to the bed.

“Hmm,” Luke whispered without moving his arms, which were crossed over his eyes.

The little girl huffed before getting on the bed and climbing on Luke’s chest, sitting cross-leg there. “Daddy,” she again said and poked his armpit repeatedly.

“Stop,” Luke laughed, finally moving his hands to hold her and set her beside him. “Honey, stop, you’re gonna fall.”

“Who is the man we met today?”

“Which man?”

“The one we saw at school.”

“Don’t worry about him… he’s just an old friend that I didn’t see in a long time, that’s all.”

Luke closed his eyes and let his mind drift to Michael. Michael was the best part of his life; he was the boyfriend anyone would wish for, he was always so caring, always made sure Luke had anything he needed and always put a smile on Luke’s face. With Michael by his side, Luke had everything he needed and wanted. He still remembered how he would always try to find new excuses every Friday afternoons so that he could go and stay at Michael’s house; convincing his mom was not very easy but he was always determined and always succeeded. Weekend sleepovers at the Clifford’s was his favourite thing to do because considering Michael was an only child and his parents worked, they used to have the house all for themselves, doing whatever they wanted, wherever they wanted. That was until Ashton or Calum would decide to show up, which was most of the time but that was alright with him because they were best friends and Ashton and Calum never had any problem that they were together; instead, the other two boys were happy for them.

In the past, he had thought he would spend his life with Michael, grow old with him; it was not just him because Ashton and Calum used to say so as well but it seemed like life had other plans for him, plans that no one had anticipated. Everything was going fine but then the next moment, everything turned upside down. He was thrown into a fierce storm and at the end of it all, he had found himself with Lily. Lily was the best thing that happened to him in the worst time of his life. Life had taken Michael away from him but in return, had given him Lily. She was an important part of him, the reason for his happiness and the love of his life; she was simply his life. There was nothing in this world that he would be unwilling to do for her happiness and to see a smile on her face because seeing her happy was what made him happy.

“Stop sleeping. I wanna play,” she whined while grabbing a pillow and hitting Luke playfully in the face.

“I’m not sleeping, I’m only lying down.”

“When are we going home?”

Luke shifted to a sitting position and looked at the girl in front of him intently. “Don’t you like it here?”

“I do but all we ever do is stay in here. I want to do other things.”

“You don’t have stay in here. You can play around in the house or outside”

“But…” Lily pouted. “I don’t know anyone…”

“Sweetie, they are my parents and your grandparents. You don’t have to be shy around them, ok? This is our home now.”

“We’re not going back, ever?” the blonde girl stared at him.

“Huh… no, it’s really nice around here. You’ll get used to it too,” Luke smiled encouragingly.

“You don’t love me anymore now?”

“What? Why would you say that?” he pulled her into her arm and held her tightly against his chest before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “I love you more than anything in the whole world. You’re my little princess and you always will be.”

“I love you too.”

“And grandma and grandpa love you too. Talk to them, will you?”

“But there’s a man who came. I’m scared of him.”

“A man?” Luke pulled back and frowned. “Which man?”

“I don’t know but he’s big and scary.”

“Big and scary?” Luke laughed. “That must be Uncle Jack, he’s big but definitely not scary at all. Is he still here?”

Lily hummed as she rubbed her palm against his beard.

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to him.”

“But daddy,” Lily said as Luke led them down the stairs.

“Hey there Princess,” Jack said the moment Luke stepped into the living room. “I see you didn’t bother informing us about being upgraded to Queen,” he added when he saw a little blonde head peeking from behind Luke.

“Jack, it’s so good to see you. I’ve missed you so much,” Luke smiled as he hugged his brother. “And this is Lily, my daughter. Lily, this is Uncle Jack, my big brother.”

“Hey Princess,” Jack said as he knelt in front of her and patted her head. “So, how long are you gonna be here?”

“Huh, I’m not going back.”

“And planning to run off again?”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “Nope… I know I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.”

“Do you have any idea how worried we all were?” Jack glared at him.

“I’m sorry. I’ve already apologised to mom and to dad. It was really immature of me…”

Jack nodded. “So if you had to do things differently, you wouldn’t leave?”

“Hmm… maybe I would… by going away, I got the most precious thing to me, Lily, and I wouldn’t want to change that for anything in the world.”

 


	2. Fix Up And Get Things Right

Michael chewed on his upper lip as he tried to keep his eyes on the road while he let his mind wander to Luke. Two days ago he had met Luke and he had acted like a complete idiot. He had met Luke after six years and all that left his mouth were a few casual words. After six years, Luke had showed up with a daughter and Michael realised he missed out a big part of the other’s life; he could not help but wonder what else he did not know about Luke. He probably should meet up with Luke and catch up with him because despite everything that had happened, they used to be best friends. Michael mumbled to himself and hummed in agreement; it seemed to be the right thing to do. Then he shook his head. He had been too busy making a fool of himself that he had forgotten to ask Luke where he was staying or what his phone number was.

As he stopped his car in the parking lot, Michael sighed and said to himself. “It’s ok buddy. It’s not really your fault if you forgot to ask him for his number. You met him after so long and you totally were not expecting it. So, it’s fine. You’ll probably meet him again someday since his daughter is going to school. That can only mean, he’s not gonna go anywhere, at least not for a while.”

He again sighed as he got out of the car and walked towards the building; he hated going to the store during weekdays, especially in the afternoon but he had no choice. He realised he had ran out of shaving foam and a few other stuffs but had been too lazy to go and buy; if only he did not need shaving cream, he would have been at home at that moment. Whispering the words to a song that he had heard on the radio on the way there, Michael pushed his trolley with one hand as he scanned the shelves and picked a packet of M&M, dropping it into the trolley. Next, he added a packet of sour worms; they were not his favourites but they were on sale and he might as well take them, maybe when his friends would come over at his, they would like them. Michael knew he was buying unnecessary things but that was the thing with supermarket, he always ended up buying more things that he did not need than what he needed.

“Sorry,” Michael mumbled when he accidentally bumped into another trolley coming from another aisle.

“Sorry,” the other guy said, without looking at him.

“Oh, hey,” he smiled when he realised he had bumped into Luke. _‘Fate,’_ Michael said in his head. He did not know whether those things existed or not but at that moment, it was looking pretty real.

“Hi,” Luke smiled back. “What are you doing here?”

Michael laughed. “Shopping? I mean, that’s what most normal people do, right? Aren’t you?”

“Normal?”

“No, shopping?”

“Yeah,” Luke let out a half-nervous-half-embarrassed chuckled.

“Cheerios?” Michael commented when he saw the three boxes of cereals in Luke’s trolley.

“Yeah, they’re for Lily.”

“Oh… they used to be your favourite.”

“They still are,” Luke said, his lips turning upward slightly.

“That was an easy guess.”

“Uh huh,” Luke nodded as he peeked into Michael’s trolley. “M&M, marshmallows, gummy bears, chocolates, jelly beans, sour worms… are you having a kid’s party?”

“No,” Michael again laughed. “It’s for times when I get lonely.”

“And candy helps?”

“You have no idea. You know what? People must be thinking we’re weirdos, standing here in the middle and talking.”

“What’s new about that?”

“You’ve got a point… but I was thinking… do you wanna grab some coffee?”

“I guess I could.”

“So, I’m done here. I’ll wait for you outside?”

“Alright.”

Michael smiled to himself and shook his head as he took the change from the girl at the cashier. She was possibly thinking he was crazy, smiling all by himself, but he did not care. Life was being very kind and generous to him lately. First he had met Luke after so many years, then when he realised he did not have Luke’s number, he met him for a second time and Luke had even agreed to have coffee with him. Being Luke’s best friend, he felt the need to know what else had happened in his life and he only hope Luke wanted to catch up on the time they had lost and go back to being his best friend as well. Most importantly, deep down, Michael knew he needed answers to all those questions that had been haunting him for six years. He also knew it would be too soon to ask Luke for any kind of explanation but he would wait until Luke was ready. Until then, he would try to fix their friendship and restore it to its former glory, hopefully.

“Hey, still wanna go for that coffee?”

“Of course, I’m waiting for you.”

“Is it far from here? Because I have to get home soon. Lily would be waiting for me.”

“No, it’s close by. Luke, you’ve only been gone for a few years and you’re acting like you don’t know this place.”

“But everything has changed and looks so different.”

“Are you bailing out on me?”

“No…”

“Where’s your car?”

Luke rolled his eyes at that question. “I don’t have a car.”

“How did you get here then? By bus?”

“No silly. Jack came over and he dropped me here while leaving. Dad’s gonna pick me up.”

“You’re staying at your parents?”

“Uh… yep,” Luke raised an eyebrow at him.

“Perfect. That means you can come in my car and I’ll drop you later,” Michael said as he made his way to his car with Luke in tow.

“That’s ok. I’ll call dad and he’ll come and get me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll drop you home safely. That way, I’ll get to say hello to your parents and your daughter.” And your girlfriend? Your wife? Michael did not know which it was and he was not sure he wanted to find out.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me. You make it sounds like we’re complete strangers. There was a time we used to be… best friends.” Michael was totally going for the word boyfriend but in the end, changed his mind. He did not know how Luke would react if he just brought that topic up. The least he wanted to do was to mess things up before fixing them.

“Yes, what a time that was. We used to be so crazy together. I still remember,” Luke smiled.

“I know… I really miss those days.” Michael stopped the car and waited for Luke before going into the building.

“I really don’t know what I’m doing here. I don’t drink coffee,” Luke said as he followed Michael.

“What do you drink then?”

“Tea?”

“Tea? How can you not drink coffee? I mean, it’s like the elixir of life, the key to a great day.”

“Habit I guess…”

“Fine, I’ll get you tea, find us a table in the meantime.”

“Alright,” Luke nodded and made his way to a small round table at the far end. Why was he there, having tea with Michael? He did not know that answer himself. Michael used to be his best friend and it would have seemed rude to reject his offer and refuse him. He would just have a couple of sips and then he would make an excuse and call his dad to pick him up. Yes, that was what he would do because that was what felt best. It was not that he did not want to talk to Michael, it was just that he was not ready for that yet. He still felt guilty with the way he left and he knew it must have hurt Michael immensely. Seeing Michael in front of him did not help with his guilt and it only made him feel somewhat worst inside. Things would have been different if it had been Ashton or Calum that he had met because they were never in love with him and he never dumped them harshly.

“Your tea,” Michael smiled.

“What are you having?” he asked as he looked at all the cream in Michael’s cup.

“Cappuccino.” He took a seat and also stared at his cup, just like Luke was doing. A weird silence settled between them and neither of them really knew what to say or where to start a conversation. Michael knew he should be the one to initiate the talking since he was the one who had invited Luke but he was at a lost for word. “So, where have you been for so long?” he finally asked after a long, never-ending minute.

“England.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.”

“You’re saying, the boy, who always needed me or Calum or Ashton to accompany him to places, went to England all by himself?”

Luke hummed in response. “I really outdid myself.”

“So, Lily, how old is she?”

“Five,” Luke smiled brightly.

“And Lily’s mother? She’s here too?”

“Huh… we’re not together… so, Mimi huh?” Luke asked, turning the conversation around when he remembered that nickname.

“Ashton wanted his kid to call me uncle and I didn’t want that. So, we settled on Mimi. It’s cute and I like it.”

“It’s childish.”

“Well, that’s the point. He’s a kid.”

“But one day, he’s gonna grow up.”

“We’ll worry about that one day someday. Right now, he’s still a kid,” Michael pointed out.

“How does Ashton even have a kid this big? He always used to say he’s never gonna settle down and all he wanted to do with his life was, to be free and to have fun.”

“Shortly after you left, he found out that Bryana was pregnant and he got back with her.”

“Bryana? Weren’t they done with each other when we left high school?”

“Yeah but you know how they were having an on and off relationship and the pregnancy was like the icing on the cake.”

“Are they still together?”

“Yep. They got married three years ago actually.”

“Silly how things change,” Luke mumbled.

“Yeah, trust me, I know.”

“And Calum?”

“He got engaged twice and it didn’t end well either times. But he didn’t give up. He’s still trying to find the right girl.”

“What about you? No kids?”

“Nope but I think I have enough experience considering how much Alex comes over.”

“No girlfriend?”

Michael scoffed. “Please.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Nope… it’s just me.”

“You haven’t been with anyone since…” Luke knew that was bordering dangerous territories but he needed to know the answer to that question.

“Not really…” Michael shook his head as he played with his cup.

There it was, another thing adding to the list and making Luke feel guiltier. “It’s late. I really should get going. Lily doesn’t like to be alone when it’s dark.”

The moment that left Luke’s mouth, Michael knew he did not want to be there anymore because it was 5pm and the sun was still relatively high. It was only an excuse to get away and it was a lame one. “Why don’t you come over for dinner at my place on Friday? I’ll tell Ashton and Calum to come over as well. That way, you can catch up with them.”

“I guess I could.”

“Just give me your number and I’ll text you my address.”

“Ok,” Luke said as he pushed his phone in Michael direction.

 _‘Lily was five years old,’_ those words kept resonating in Michael’s head as he drove them to Luke’s parents’ house. Lily was five and Luke was gone for six years. What did that mean? In Michael’s eyes, there was only one answer. Luke did not really love him and the moment he left he met someone else. What about everything they had shared? Did they not mean anything to Luke? How could he have forgotten about Michael so easily? Was Michael only a phase that he was going through? Was that all that Michael meant to him? Michael shook his head; he should not be thinking like this because Luke was his best friend and Luke had never treated him less than Ashton or Calum. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Luke biting the side of his lower lip as he stared at the road straight ahead. There was another uncomfortable silence that had settled between them and Michael was not liking it because in the past, they never used to lack things to say to each other.

“Calum and Ashton are gonna be so shocked when they’ll know you’re back,” Michael said, breaking the silence for a second time.

 _Shocked?_ Luke raised a confusing eyebrow at him. “Is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

“No, a good one actually. A good kind of shock, you know, like a surprise that you are not expecting.”

Luke hummed and nodded. “Thanks for driving me home, you didn’t really have to.”

“Shut up. Why won’t I want to do that? Do you think your mom made cookies? Remember how me, Cal and Ash used to barge into her kitchen and steal cookies?”

“Yeah, but I think she knew you guys liked them, which was why she always made so many of them,” Luke laughed at the memory.

“We’ve reached your destination, Sir. Thank you for letting me be your chauffeur.”

“You haven’t changed one bit. You’re still the same, a dork.” Luke smiled as he got out and picked his bags that were in the backseat.

“I hope that’s a good thing and it’ll keep me on your friend list.”

“Shut up,” he playfully bumped his shoulder with Michael’s as they walked to the door. “You’ll always be my friend.”

“I’m glad to know that.”

“Mom, I’m home.”

“Daddyyyy,” Lily shouted and ran to hug him. “What took you so long?”

“I met Michael when I was out. You remember Michael, right? Say hello to him, I’m gonna drop this in the kitchen.”

“Hi, Lily. I’m Michael. I came to pick Alex at school the other day. Remember me?”

“Daddy says I have to call that man uncle because it is his brother. Do I have to call you uncle?”

Michael laughed at the expression on her face. “No… you don’t have to. How about you call me… hmm… Mimi?”

“Mimi?”

“Hey, I have some candy in my car. Do you want some?”

Lily pursed her lips and turned to look at Luke, who was leaning against the wall. “Daddy says I should not take candy from strangers.”

“Sweetheart, Michael is not a stranger, he’s my friend.”

“Can I take a candy?”

“Of course,” Luke smiled.

“Come on,” Michael took her hand and led her outside, with Luke following them. “You can pick anything you want,” he smiled as he showed her the bag.

Lily looked into the bag and then back at Luke.

“You can take what you like. Luke won’t tell you anything.”

“Can I have one of this?” she pointed to the packet of marshmallow.

Smiling, Michael dropped to his knees in front of her. “You know what? You’re sweet. You can have the whole packet.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Michael nodded, his smile never fading.

“Thank you,” Lily took the packet from his hand and pressed a kiss to his cheek, causing Luke to smile at the scene. She ran back to where Luke was and held his hand.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you then,” Michael looked at them.

“Yeah, bye.” Luke gave Michael one last hug before the brunette turned around and got back in his car. His meeting with Michael was unexpected but Michael gave him hope that things would be alright; that he still had his best friends.

“Bye bye,” Lily waved as Michael drove away. “Daddy, let’s go inside.”

Luke hummed and walked back inside. “Michael invited us for dinner on Friday. Do you want to go? If you don’t want we can stay home and do whatever you want.”

“Can I wear my blue dress if we go? You never let me wear it.”

“Alright,” Luke nodded. “Go on, go play with your dolls by the time daddy finish unpacking the grocery and pick up those toys you left on the stairs. You can hurt yourself if you just leave them there.”

“Ok.”

While coming back, Luke had thought that no one would want to talk to him. He realised that was where he was wrong. Even if he had acted the way he did, everyone was still talking to him and no one made him feel like a stranger, especially Michael. He had not thought the brunette would ever talk to him again. He only had to hope Calum and Ashton would forgive him as well and he would get his best friends back because not matter how many things had changed, he still missed them. As much as he was apprehensive to have dinner at Michael’s house, he was also looking forward to it. Only time would tell what would happen next.

 


	3. Got A Shot

“So, who’s coming over for dinner?” Ashton asked as he helped Michael to set up the table.

“Just somebody I want you guys to meet,” Michael smiled, setting a fork next to the plate.

“I can’t tell you how glad I am that you’re meeting other people. You’ve been lonely for as long as I can remember.”

Laughing, Michael shook his head. “It’s not like that.”

“Yeah but that’s how it always starts. It’s not like that and we’re just friends, nothing else. And then before everyone else would have time to figure out what’s going on, you’d announce that you’re together.”

“Ashton, it’s not like this, like definitely not.”

“Yeah yeah… I’m really happy for you, genuinely. Don’t let go of the opportunity.”

“Gosh… You have no idea what you’re saying. It’s not gonna happen, trust me.”

Ashton set one elbow on the back of the chair that was in front of him and looked straight at Michael. “You’re gonna thank me when you’ll realise how right I’ve been.”

Michael raised an eyebrow at him but eventually shook his head. “I really hate to break it to you but you have no idea how wrong you are this time.”

“How about we let time decide who’s right and who’s wrong?” Ashton proposed.

“Alright, just wait for it. I’ll be so fucking glad to tell you that you’re wrong.”

“Hey, watch that language,” Ashton glanced at Alex, who was playing with a giraffe stuff toy, in the living room. “We’re all agreed, no swearing or crude words in front of the kids.”

Michael rolled his eyes at him. Ashton had been saying that to him and Calum ever since Alex was born, five years ago. No swearing, no crude words, no explicit language, no decadent expression or no foul language; in other words, they had to expand their vocabulary because Ashton was not going to have it any other way. “Ashton, he’s in the other room and he’s probably not heard a thing.”

“Still, watch that mouth.”

“Do you know how long it’s been since I last swore? I’m kinda forgetting how to.”

“Not very long, you just did.”

“Michael?” Calum said as he looked at the two of them. “Where’s your special guest?”

“Yeah, how long are we gonna have to wait?” Ashton added and looked at all the food. “Hmm… it’s smelling good. What did you make?”

“Tandoori Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Green Salad and Rice.”

“All of that?” Calum raised an eyebrow. “When did you learn how to make tandoori chicken or sweet and sour shrimp?”

“I first had tandoori chicken when I went to Dubai last year and I fell in love with it. To answer your question, well, I don’t have a girlfriend who bitch at me every single day, I don’t have a wife to please and I certainly don’t have kids who run around the house all day, needing attention. So, I have plenty of time to learn new things,” Michael joked.

“Fuck you!” Calum said sulkily. “That was actually very mean.”

“Watch your language, young man,” Ashton glared at Calum.

“Sorry Dad,” Calum laughed. “Where is he? She? All these food are making me hungry.”

Michael glanced at the clock and sighed before fixing his hair. “He should be here soon. I told him to be here at 7.”

“He?” Ashton laughed and made his way into the living room. “That should be interesting.”

“Huh… what’s funny in that?” Michael asked as he followed him.

“Nothing,” he shrugged. “I’m just saying, that’s all.”

“You better keep your silly remarks to yourself. I don’t…” Michael stopped mid-sentence when he heard the doorbell. “He’s here and Ashton, please, don’t say anything stupid or embarrassing.”

“What?”

Ignoring him, Michael made his way to the door. Again fixing his hair, he took a deep breath and put a big smile on his lips before opening the door. The moment the door swung open, Luke smiled at Michael and mumbled a little ‘hi’. He had been restless all afternoon but somehow after ringing the bell to Michael’s front door, he was not very sure if he wanted to be there. Suddenly, he was dreading the moment and he was about to change his mind and get back in his dad’s car, which he had borrowed, and go back home but failed. Before he had time to put his plan into action, the door had opened, leaving him with no choice than to go inside. He lifted his eyes to look back at Michael, who was looking back at him, and then at Lily, who was also looking at him; that was it, there was no turning back at that point.

“Are you gonna come in or are you planning on standing there itself?” Michael smiled.

“Of course,” Luke whispered.

“I asked you that twice already but you were lost in your thoughts.”

“Sorry, I’m kinda nervous.”

Michael laughed. “Relax, there’s no one you’ve never met before in there.”

“You’re right, I’m being ridiculous.”

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” Luke said as he took a deep breath and followed Michael.

“Guys, there’s somebody I’d like you to meet,” he said as he stepped aside, revealing Luke, who was behind him and smiling brightly.

The room went silent as all pairs of eyes were on him and the little head that was peeking from behind him. The clock was ticking slowly and no one knew what to say.

“Luke?” Ashton frowned. “What’s he doing here?” scoffing, he turned and walked out of the room.

“This was a bad idea,” Luke said as he turned around on his heels but Michael grabbed his hands.

“Wait! Just give me five minutes, I’ll talk to him. Please?”

“Luke? Oh my God, I can’t believe it,” Calum smiled as he walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s really you. You look so different…”

“Ashton? What was that?” Michael asked as he also entered the dining room.

“What is Luke doing here?”

“I invited him over for dinner,” Michael stated the obvious.

“But why?”

“Because he’s our friend.”

“The Luke I used to know was my best friend but this guy… I don’t even know who he is and I’m sure you don’t either.”

“Oh, come on. Can’t we forget the past? He’s still the same Luke, our best friend.”

“Forget the past? Michael, friends don’t ditch one another and set off without saying a word. Real friends stick together, for better or worse, like we’ve been doing for years. I can’t forget the past. Can you? Have you forgotten everything?”

Michael made a face, hoping Ashton was not talking loud enough so as he was heard from the other room. “Ok, maybe you have a point. He made a mistake, everyone makes mistakes but that does not mean we should stop talking to them forever. Everyone gets a do-over, won’t you give him a chance?”

“Does he deserve a chance?”

“Do it for me?”

Ashton looked at Michael and sighed. “Only because you’re asking and not because of him.”

“Aww… you know deep down in your not-so-cold little heart, you wanna talk to him too.”

“This is ridiculous,” Ashton shook his head as he looked at Michael’s retreating figure.

“And Ashton,” Michael said, turning around. “I win and you lose. You owe me a night out.”

“What? When did we agree on that?” Ashton frowned while walking back into the living room.

“Just now.”

“You’re just a little piece of…”

“Nuh-huh, watch that language,” Michael laughed.

“Luke, I’m glad to see you,” Ashton said ignoring Michael. “And sorry about earlier,” he added on an apologetic tone.

“Actually, the fault is mine,” Michael stated. “I should already have told you and Calum that Luke was coming over, you know ease you into it.”

“Yeah, this was all your fault,” Ashton nodded. “You should have warned us that Luke was coming. And who’s this little one?”

“This is Lily, my daughter,” Luke smiled.

“Hi, I’m Ashton. That’s a cute dress you’re wearing.”

“It’s my Elsa dress. Daddy bought it when we went to Disneylamb.”

Ashton laughed. “Aww… aren’t you a cutie?”

“She was insisting on wearing that tonight.”

“Now that you’ve met Ashton and Calum, let me introduce you to the rest of the family,” Michael said as he pulled Luke away from Ashton and Lily. “This is Bryana but I guess you already know her.”

“Hi,” they both said at the same time as they hugged each other.

“Wow, look at you… you still look stunning.”

“And that’s my wife that you’re flirting with,” Ashton interrupted and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“No… I… huh… I was just saying she still looks the same…”

“I was only messing with you,” he laughed as he playfully hit Luke in the arm.

Luke let out a tiny laugh and rubbed the side of his arm with his other hand nervously. Sensing the uneasiness, Michael approached them and announced it was time for dinner. Something which Luke was grateful for, because in a way, he had saved him from a situation that he did not want to be into and the sooner the dinner was over, the sooner he would be home, away from his past and questions he did not want to answer. As for the moment, he would just have to blend in. With all the food that was on the table, Luke had to admit he was really impressed because he could still remember the time when Michael was incapable of making himself anything to eat; they did not only look good but they tasted as equally amazing. He looked up from his plate when he heard a little commotion on the other side of the table and he realised Alex was insisting on having the red juice as well, which was in fact wine, but Ashton silenced him with a glare, causing the little boy to quietly eat his food and Luke to shake his head at them. He was glad Lily was not like that; when it was just the two of them, she could be a little stubborn but other than that, she was well-mannered and quiet.

Michael, who was sitting at one end of the table, looked to his left, at Luke. Although the blonde had stayed quiet, Michael could tell he had been quite taken aback by Ashton’s outburst and he could also read the hurt expression on his face, which he had quickly camouflaged with a smile. Luke might have been away for six years but he had also spent most of his time with Michael before that and Michael could tell when he was happy or sad or hurt or simply pretending to be happy. If he had known Ashton would have reacted that way, he would never have invited Luke over, at least not yet, not until he had gently broken the news to Ashton and Calum, eased them into it and made sure they were ready to meet Luke again. Seeing that look on Luke’s face when he had said it was a bad idea, did something to Michael inside and he could not help but feel guilty. Luke may have left him, broken all romantic relationship with him but his heart had never stopped loving the other and he still could not bear seeing him in any kind of troubled emotion.

Sighing, Michael thought back to what he had planned; part one of the plan was done, which was to have Luke over for dinner and make him meet Ashton and Calum. Part two, which was to make sure things went smoothly between the four of them like before, seemed to be a little bit tougher, considering Ashton’s initial reaction. So, the meeting was done, he just hoped the bonding would be a little better. Calum and Bryana had offered to help him clean up after dinner and Luke and Ashton had made their way back into the lounge area, with the kids. Michael could not see them from the kitchen and he did not hope for another disaster; although, he could not hear them talk, which was a good thing because that would mean things were still looking good, awkward but alright. Wiping his hands in a towel, he walked into the lounge and leant against the arch, shaking his head. Luke was sitting on a couch, with Lily beside him, while Ashton was seated on another sofa and Alex was playing with a car on the floor; the normally talkative Ashton was quiet, which was odd.

“Hey Lily, come here sweetheart, I’ll give you something,” Michael said as he knelt in front of the little girl.

He walked her to the other side of the room and handed her a giraffe stuff toy before walking back to where Ashton and Luke were sitting. Lily looked at the animal in her hand and then back at Luke, who nodded at her. Smiling at the toy, she knelt on the carpet and placed it in front of her.

“This is my toy,” Alex shouted as he pulled the giraffe away from her, causing her to run back to Luke.

“Alex,” Ashton muttered in disbelief. “Is that what you’ve been taught?”

“This is my toy. Mimi bought it for me.”

“Say sorry and give it back to her,” Ashton crossed his arms and glared at him.

“But dad…”

“Now!”

Mumbling something, Alex tossed the toy on the couch next to her and went back to his toy car.

“What’s with all the noises?” Calum asked, licking his finger as he joined them.

“Nothing, just Ashton trying to be a good dad,” Michael said when no one else did.

“I am a good dad. And I’m sorry about this,” Ashton said as he looked at Luke. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He’s normally a well-behaved kid.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like the competition?” Calum proposed, licking another finger.

“Competition? What kind of competition?”

“Luke’s daughter?”

“Why do you keep licking your fingers?” Michael frowned.

“Oh, I almost forgot. That chocolate cake you made is exquisite. It’s so good.”

“So you were eating cake? I thought you were helping Bryana,” Michael shook his head. “Where is she?”

“I wasn’t eating cake, I was only tasting. She’ll be here soon, she’s getting dessert.”

“There’s chocolate cake for dessert?” Ashton turned to look at Michael, who nodded. “When did you have time for all this?”

“Well, I’ve been busy preparing since morning.”

“You didn’t go to work just so you could prepare all this… because you called me over for dinner?” Luke stared at Michael.

“I, huh, I don’t really go to work. I mean I work but I don’t have a job that requires me to be there at particular time and have office hours. I’m a photographer, a free-lancer and I’m wherever I’m needed, whenever I’m needed.”

“That’s cool. About you?” he asked as he turned to Calum.

“Mine’s a little tougher than Michael’s. I’m an event planner, sometimes it’s awesome and sometimes it makes me wish I had chosen another profession but it’s all good.”

“Michael’s a photographer, Calum’s an event planner and what are you, head of a musical band? Because that would make the perfect combination for a wedding,” Luke laughed lightly.

“Sounds tempting but nope, I’m a teacher, an English literature teacher.”

“Wow… it sounds like you all went to universities and got yourselves educated. I’m impressed. And from what I’ve learnt from Michael, you’re leading happy lives as well.”

“Now that’s not cool. Looks like we’re at a disadvantage since we know nothing about you,” Calum commented.

“Yeah, tell us what you did after you ran off,” Ashton added on a joking tone.

“Huh… when I left, I went to London and I met this guy,” Luke stopped when all the three of them raised their eyebrows. “No, it’s not like that. He was like forty or something and he used to work at that radio station. He offered me a job. And yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

“What about her mother?”

“She left after her birth and we didn’t really talk after that.”

“And now you’re back?” Ashton nodded. “I mean, it’s great to have you back but I seriously can’t forget that you left without saying anything, not even a word. Do you have any freaking idea how many times I drove to your parents’ house to ask them if there was any news of you?”

“You did?”

“Of course I did. You’re my best friend and of course I’d like to know if you’re alright, no matter where you are. When you left, there was that weird apprehension, that weird uneasy feeling in my gut. There was always that fear, what if you had gotten mugged and were thrown in a gutter somewhere?”

“I’m sorry,” Luke whispered, feeling really bad; he had not been expecting to hear something like that from Ashton because Ashton was not very good with feelings. “I wanted to call but I didn’t know what to say. I feel really bad.”

“It’s alright. I was worried but then after almost a year I met Ben and guess what he told me? That you’re in London.”

“Ben?”

“Yep, your brother Ben.”

“Wait a minute,” Calum frowned. “So, all this time you knew where he was and you didn’t say anything to me or Michael?”

“Well, I guessed if Luke and Ben didn’t want anyone to know where he was, I should keep it that way. I’m sorry if I was trying to act smart.”

“Ok, now that we’re done with all the ranting, can we move to a happier subject?” Michael, who had been quiet, asked; Ashton would hear from him later.

“So, how old is she?” Luke asked as he looked at the little girl who was sitting on Ashton’s thighs, clutching the front of his shirt.

“That’s Alana, my little angel. She’s recently turned two,” he smiled as he patted her head lightly.

“Yeah, as you can see, Ashton and Bryana were busy making babies right after they tied the knot,” Michael laughed.

“Oh, there you are. My second share of dessert,” Calum sighed when he saw Bryana walking in with a tray in her hands. “What took you so long?”

“I was waiting for you guys to be done with your reunion,” she smiled as she handed him a plate.

“You’re brilliant. Ashton, can you please kiss her for me? And Michael, if you weren’t my best friend, I’d have kissed you right now. I’m blown away by you’re cooking skills. I really need to spend more time at your house.”

“Cal, you’re at my house every weekend,” Michael smiled.

“Well I need to come over more often,” Calum stated, causing them all to laugh.

***.*.*.*.*.***

Luke smiled as he started the car and drove away from Michael’s house. It was past nine and he had to admit he had more fun than he had anticipated. After the first, not so cool, reaction, everything just went from good to better. He knew he had missed his best friends in those six years but he had not realised it was that much. While he was away, he did make new friend but no one could replace those three idiots he had grown up with. They had their own special places in his life and there was no one who could fill that void. He was certain if things did not go well that night, those places would have forever remained empty. However, that was not the case and he was more than happy about that. All he had to do was to undo the wrongs that he had made and wipe the gap that had formed with time; a gap that was already starting to dissipate. Michael had already forgiven him and he could tell Calum did as well.

Ashton, however, may have talked to him, laughed with him but Luke knew him well enough to know it was going to take more than that to get him to fully forgive him. Glancing in the backseat, he again smiled at Lily, who had fallen asleep. He had nearly gotten his old life back, he only could hope there would be a place for Lily in there as well. He could only hope everyone would accept that part of him and give her a place in their lives as well. She had not been very keen about the move but Luke could tell she had been trying to adjust to the new surrounding and the new people; he knew it was hard for her, considering how timid she could be at times but she was a tough little girl, just like him. Somehow, meeting his friend that night gave him new hopes, hope that things would finally be alright, that he could still count on them and that he still had a place in their hearts and Lily might just fit in there as well.


	4. Won't Give Up

Michael pushed the door open and waited for Alex to get in before doing so himself. He had again picked the boy from school because Ashton had said he was busy and would not be able to. That request was more than welcome by Michael because picking Alex up would mean seeing Luke again, something he was dying for. Closing the door, Michael pressed his back against it as he watched Alex drop his bag on the floor and jump on the couch to remove his shoes. Although, his mind was elsewhere; thoughts of Luke filled his head, like they had been doing more and more lately. If only Luke had not left six years ago, they would have been happy together, like Ashton and Bryana. They definitely would not have kids but at least, they would have had each other and their love, which were the most important things. Staying in the same house as Luke, waking up next to him each day, seeing Luke’s face first thing every morning, making Luke breakfast, going to work, making Luke dinner or talking about everything and nothing with him; those sounded too good, too good for them to actually be true. Michael took a deep breath when he heard a loud clanking sound from the kitchen and he quickly glanced in that direction.

“Alex?” he said as he sat next to the boy. “Why don’t you be a sweetheart and take your bag to your room? I’ll get you something to eat in the meantime.”

“Ok and I want chocolate milk too.”

“Alright, scoot now.” Michael watched the boy make his way up the stairs before licking his lips and making his way to the kitchen, where he guessed Ashton was; Ashton, that guy owed him an explanation. “Are you gonna apologise or not?” he questioned the moment he stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, good to see you too. Where’s Alex?” Ashton raised an eyebrow at him.

“So, you’re just gonna act like you don’t fucking know what you did?” Michael crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him.

“Hey, no swearing,” Ashton warned. “Alex might hear you and I don’t want him to pick up bad language.”

Michael rolled his eyes. “He’s upstairs,” he commented as he looked around the kitchen; there were things scattered on the counters, flour on the countertops, some on the floor as well and the cream-coloured apron that Ashton was wearing and Michael realised Ashton was also wearing a light blue snapback backward on his head, snapback that he knew belonged to Bryana.

“He still might hear. So, no swearing.”

“Fine… why the sudden need to make cookies?”

“After dinner the other day at your house, it kinda left me feeling inferior and complexed. I thought I could make something too,” Ashton smiled.

“Ugh…” Michael took a bite of one of the cookies and made a face. “This tastes disgusting.”

“No, it doesn’t. I followed a recipe I found online, although I modified it a bit and I’m sure they’re fine. You’re just saying that because you’re mad at me.”

“Daaad, I’m hungryyy,” Alex said in a whiny tone as he walked in. “Can I have one of these?”

“Of course,” Ashton replied as he picked Alex up and gave him a cookie. “Did you have a good day?”

“Don’t eat that, Sweetie. It’s awful. I’ll get you something else,” Michael said as he pulled the biscuit from his hand.

“What’s wrong with you?” Ashton frowned.

“Nothing is wrong with me but maybe next time you should leave the cooking to Bryana. These kids deserve so much better than your lame cooking skills.”

“Now you’re just being rude.”

“Nope, just telling you what’s right.”

“Daddy, I want one,” Alex insisted.

“Of course you can have one, Sweetheart. Don’t listen to Michael.” Ashton set him on a chair and again handed him a cookie.

“He’s stubborn, just like you,” Michael commented as he opened a cupboard.

“He’s my son, he’s supposed to be like me.”

“Yeah but you just keep spoiling him.”

“This is not good,” Alex said, spitting on the floor before throwing the cookie as well.

“Alex?” Ashton glared at him. “Pick that up this instance.”

“Nooo… I’m hungry…”

“Where did you learn these manners? If you keep up with that attitude, I’m definitely gonna ground you. Now, pick this up and throw it in the bin.”

“Just like you,” Michael mumbled. “This house is a chaos without Bryana. I wonder how she puts up with the two of you.”

“Shut the ffff… it up.”

“You probably should apply that no swearing rule to yourself as well and not just order others to do it.”

“Just zip it, ok? And you little man, you pick that cookie from the floor,” Ashton said firmly. “No, not a word,” he added when Alex opened his mouth to protest again. “Come on, to your room.”

“I’ll tell mommy for you,” Alex mumbled.

“Go, now.”

“Hey, Alex?” Michael whispered to the boy, who was walking away.

“Yes?” he asked as he turned to face Michael, still sulkily.

“Do you love Mimi?”

“Yes…”

“No, say it like you want to,” Michael walked to him and tickled his sides.

“I love you Mimi,” Alex laughed.

“That’s my good boy. Here you go.” On that, Michael gave him a packet of biscuit that he had found in the cupboard.

Ashton glanced at Michael and shook his head; Michael could be so childish sometimes. However, other times, he could be very annoying. He had managed to avert the subject but he knew sooner or later, Michael would again ask him about Luke. Ever since he had mentioned he knew where Luke had been for the past six years, he had been dreading a conversation with Michael. Beside being childish and annoying, Michael was also stubborn and Ashton knew he would not let go of things, not until he got the answers he wanted from Ashton. So, he had been running over things a few times in his head, mentally prepping himself to answer Michael’s questions with diplomacy. He knew exactly when to say what and he could only hope things would go as smoothly as he had imagined. Damn, if he had been smarter, he would never have said he had known where Luke was but unfortunately, he had opened his big mouth at the wrong time and now, everybody was blaming him. No one was finding Luke at fault for running off but everyone was blaming him for knowing.

Ashton pulled the apron off and looked at the mess that he had made on the counters; Bryana would be mad at him if she found the kitchen in that state when she came back from her mom’s house. Shaking his head at that thought, Ashton piled all the dirty dishes in the sink and moved to wash them while his mind again drifted back to Luke, Calum and Michael. He was as much a victim in the situation as Michael and Calum were but neither of them could see that because unluckily, he was the one who had met Ben that day. He only wished they would understand and see things from his point of view. Glancing in the living room, Ashton wondered what Michael was waiting for when everybody could tell he was dying hear everything out. He was surprised Michael had not approached him again and bombarded him with question that he did not want to answer although, he wanted Michael to ask him already so that he could be done with that matter once and for all. From where he was standing and wiping the table, he could see Michael going back and forth in his living room but he could not tell why. Ashton looked at his feet when he heard a crashing sound and he realised he had accidentally thrown a bowl to the floor; that was it, Bryana was going to kill him.

“What are you doing?” Michael asked as he stood in the kitchen doorway.

“Cleaning.”

“Cleaning? Or making a bigger mess?”

“Shit,” Ashton muttered when he heard the front door open.

“Hey guys,” Calum said loudly.

“Oh, it’s just you,” Ashton sighed in relief when he realised it was not Bryana.

“What happened here?” Calum looked at the mess on the table and floor. “Are you two fighting?”

“No, it’s just Ashton trying to play chef for a few hours and trust me, he’s terrible at it.”

“Will you stop criticizing my cooking skills? Just because you’re perfect at it doesn’t mean you should belittle other who are mediocre.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Michael smiled.

“Can we get to what we’re here for?” Calum looked at Michael.

Michael nodded and walked to the living room while Calum followed him. Ashton frowned at their retreating figures; they were there for something? As confusion clouded his mind, he left whatever he was doing and followed them as well.

“Huh… what’s going on?”

“Are you gonna tell us now or not?” Michael asked impatiently.

“Tell you what?”

“Why?” they both said at the same time and Ashton realised why Michael had not said anything yet; he was waiting for Calum.

Ashton took a deep breath. There he was, mentally ready to face Michael and then Calum had to show up. He was not sure he could deal with them both at the same time. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, so now, you’re gonna act all ignorant?”

“Why did you do this?” Calum raised an eyebrow at him. “Why didn’t you tell us you knew where Luke was?”

“I was just being a good friend. If Luke did not want us or his parents to know where he was, he must have had his reasons and being his best friend, it was my duty to respect that decision.”

“We had the right to know too. We’re his best friend too,” Calum pointed out.

“Again, I was just being a good friend.”

“Stop saying that. If you were a good friend, you would’ve told me or Calum. We were worried sick.”

“I’m sorry but I’m not sorry for what I did?”

“Now, you’re being a jerk,” Michael bounced his foot continuously, in frustration.

“I don’t get why you guys are ok with the fact that he left without a word but you’re mad at me because of such a trivial thing.”

“This is anything but trivial,” Calum pointed out. “We’re mad at you because you kinda lied to us.”

“If you guys knew why I did it, you wouldn’t be blaming me.”

“But we’re asking you and you refuse to say anything. What else you want us to do other than blame you?” Calum sighed. “Maybe it’s time you say it, Luke’s back anyway.”

Ashton cleared his throat and rubbed his palms together as he looked at Calum, then at Michael. “I was as worried as you two were and I hadn’t stopped thinking about Luke since he left. It was kinda like a shock because we all knew what a baby Luke always was and just like that, one morning he texted us, saying goodbye. Liz and Andy must have been sick of seeing my face every day for almost a year because I used to drive there every afternoon to ask about Luke. Then one day, all of a sudden, I met Ben. I can’t tell you how happy I was to hear that Luke was okay.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? You knew how upset I was when he dumped me by text, a freaking text.”

“I know, I know. But If I had told you, you would have gone rushing to him, without thinking about anything or anyone.”

“No, I wouldn’t. We’re not talking about taking a bus or anything. It’s England we’re talking about and if you didn’t know, we have to take a plane to get there. But I’d definitely have called him.”

“I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to do anything stupid.”

Michael frowned. “How is talking to my boyfriend classified as something stupid?”

“Ex-boyfriend,” Calum mumbled.

“That is just a detail,” Michael retorted.

“A detail?” Ashton laughed. “Did you forget the part where he met someone else and he has a daughter?”

“I don’t know but maybe if I had talked to him, he would have listened to me and come back.”

“I doubt that.”

“How can you say that so confidently?” Calum frowned; he had the impression Ashton was still hiding things.

“Remember that day I met Ben? He gave me Luke’s number and I called him,” he said carefully as he watched Calum’s and Michael’s mouths drop open. “He told me to give him some time, telling me not to call him, and he would call me himself. He promised. Five months later I was still waiting. I figure, being the good friend that I was, I should call him. I did and guess what? The number was no longer available. He decided to cut us out. The only reason I didn’t tell you guys was because I didn’t want you two to go through what I’ve been through. I sorry.”

“Aww Ashton, are you crying?” Calum asked and pulled the other one into a hug.

“Oh fuck you,” Ashton laughed as he tried to push Calum away.

“Group hug,” Michael shouted and jumped on the other two.

**.:.:.:.:.:.**

Calum patted his stomach and pressed his palm to his mouth as he burped. After that stressful and angsty conversation that they had had earlier that afternoon, they had started play-fighting and laughing loudly. That was how Bryana had found them, with all the cushions scattered on the floor. She had ignored it because they always had the tendency to act like kids when they were left alone but when she saw the mess in the kitchen, she was furious. She made them all clean it up and it was not at all a surprise when Ashton kept quiet while Michael and Calum protested. In the end, they helped him out because they knew he was going to hear much more once they were gone. When the mess was cleaned up and Ashton had pacified her, she invited them to stay for dinner, something which was much appreciated because it had been so long since they had gathered up, just the three of them. Calum laughed when Alex climbed on the armrest of the couch and tried to climb onto Ashton’s shoulders while Ashton was telling him to stop because he could fall and hurt himself. Somehow, that reminded Calum of his own childhood.

Sighing, Ashton picked Alex up and set him on the couch beside him. He looked at Michael who had been quiet since before dinner and Ashton could tell what was going on in his mind; he was definitely thinking about Luke again. Luke, Luke, Luke: his sudden arrival had created quite a commotion in their lives and Ashton knew none of them were prepared for that. He knew neither of them had thought they would ever see or hear from the blonde again but yet, there he was, back into their lives, just like that. After six years, a twist had been added to their lives and they were all trying to deal with it in their own ways. Since Luke came back, all Michael could think about was Luke and they did not even know if he was the same Luke that he used to be years ago or a completely different person. He did look different and Ashton could not help but wonder what else had changed in him, other than the fact that he had a daughter. Anyways, it turned out the conversation that he did not want to be having went on better than he had thought and honestly, after sharing that secret with them, he felt like a burden had been lifted off his chest.

“Alex, what is this?” Ashton frowned as he looked into the boy’s backpack. “Did you steal this?” he asked as he pulled out a colouring book.

“No… Lily dropped it under the table. I took it to give it to her.”

Michael’s head shot up when he heard Lily’s name. “Let me see that,” he pulled the book from Ashton’s hand and looked at it. “Maybe I should return it. What if she has homework in this?”

“Seriously Michael? Homework in a colouring book? That’s the lamest excuse I’ve heard,” Calum laughed.

Michael ignored Calum’s remark and kept his hopes up, hope that he might be able to see Luke later. “Give it to me, I’ll drop it on my way home.”

“You’ve met Luke already today when you went to pick Alex, why are you so desperate to see him again?” Ashton sighed.

“I didn’t… actually, Jack’s the one who came to get Lily.”

“But the Hemmings’ house is not even on your way home,” Ashton pointed out and pulled the book from Michael.

“I don’t mind a little detour.”

“Why would you bother when it’s on Calum’s way? You’ll drop it, right Calum? You won’t mind?”

“Of course not,” Calum smiled. “Aww, come here, my Little Pumpkin,” he laughed as he picked Alana, who was crawling on the floor by his foot, and set her on his stomach. “How have you been, Ali?”

“Ali? Her name’s Alana.”

“Yeah, you know nickname, Ali because I couldn’t possibly call her Ala. It sounds weird.”

“You’re weird,” Ashton chuckled.

“Did you mish Daddy?”

“Hey, I’m her one and only dad,” Ashton said on a protective tone.

“Yeah but I could always adopt her and become her dad. She loves me more anyway,” Calum said, cuddling with the little girl before tickling her tummy and causing her to giggle.

“No she does not. Get that thought out of your head.”

“Just ignore that big man other there, Pumpkin. He’s just jealous.”

“I am ignoring you,” Ashton rolled his eyes and glanced at Michael, who was still looking at the book. “Why are you so desperate? You don’t even know if Luke still feels the same about you. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t because he has someone else in his life. And he even has Lily. So, I’m sure he doesn’t have time to think about you. Now that Luke is back and we all know that he had been seeing other people while he was away, maybe it’s time for you to move on.”

“I have to agree with Ashton on this one,” Calum stated.

“He said he had no one else in his life, except for Lily,” Michael corrected.

“And that automatically means he wants you back? This is ridiculous.”

“Luke’s back, now what?” Calum asked as he slowly looked between Michael and Ashton.

“You just agreed with me. What’s that question for then?”

“I know but Michael’s my best friend too and I know he loves Luke. So?”

“So, nothing. We’ll just keep living our lives the way we were before he showed up.”

“Or... we could go back to how it was before he left,” Michael proposed.

“Michael, listen to me very carefully. It has been six years and you should move on and you’re going to move on as of right now. You understand me?” Ashton shook his shoulders as if to get the word clearly in his head.

“I’m not one of your kids, Ashton.”

“No but you’re my best friend and I care about you. I’m saying this for your good. Please listen to me. And Calum, would you be a darling and pick Alex from school tomorrow? I was gonna ask Michael but I changed my mind.”

“That’s so mean. You can’t keep him away from me for ever. Sooner or later I’m gonna see him and there would be nothing you can do about that.”

At that very moment, Michael’s phone vibrated on the coffee table and Calum mumbled, “Fate.”

“Zip it, Calum. Hello?” Ashton said as he answered the phone before Michael could.

“Ashton? Hi, what’s up? Is Michael there?” Luke asked from the other end.

“Michael? Yeah, he’s here but he’s kinda busy. Do you have a message?”

“No, it’s ok… I’ll call him back.”

“Alright, talk to you later?” Ashton hung up and placed the phone back on the table.

“That was rude.”

“You’re not talking to him and that’s final.”

Michael made a face and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting and ignoring anything else Ashton was saying. How could Ashton do that to him when he knew how he felt? He knew he was over-reacting because deep down, he knew Ashton was only trying to help him but that was not a way to behave; he was not a kid anymore. He also knew Ashton had a point when he had said Luke had moved on but he could not really come to a conclusion without knowing how Luke felt about him. He could not give up without trying. When he had not given up during those six years, he could not just give up when Luke was so close. No matter what Ashton said, he was not going to give up, not now.


	5. A Place To Start Again

Calum tapped his index against the steering wheel as he hummed along with the song that was playing on the radio. He glanced in the seat next to him, at the colouring book that was still there, and bit the left side of his lower lip, debating whether he should go and drop it or not but he was already running late for work and should probably do that later. Ignoring that, Calum turned his car around; he was the boss and on rare occasions, he was allowed to be late. That was how he found himself ringing the bell for the second time, in front of the Hemmings’ door. When no one answered, Calum pressed the button again.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Luke sighed as he pulled a shirt on and ran down the stairs.

Of course, Calum rang the bell again and waited for five seconds before reaching for it again but before he could, the door flung open and he smiled sheepishly at Luke.

“Did you intend to break the bell?” Luke laughed and invited the brunette in.

“I’m quite impatient, you see,” Calum laughed as well.

“Shut up, you’ve never been impatient.”

“What took you so long?”

“Mom’s not here. Dad’s not here. I was just lying down.”

“Lucky you, I was rushing to work. Where is Lily? I’ve got her book.”

“What is this doing with you?” Luke took the book from Calum and eyed it. “I thought she lost it.”

“No, she left it at school and Alex picked it up. Ashton asked me to give it to her.”

“Well, give it to her then. Honey, can you come here for a second?” Luke called loudly. “There’s someone who’s here to meet you.”

“But you have not braided my hair yet,” she said, peeking from the stairs.

“It’s alright, I’ll do it later. Come on now, come say hi.”

“You know, if you ever need a babysitter, you can let me know. I love kids, I’m great with them and we actually get along really well.”

“I’ll think about it,” Luke smiled and turned to look at Lily, who was pushing her blonde hair out of her face and walking towards them.

“Hello, Poppet. I’ve got something for you,” Calum smiled and handed her the book.

“That’s my book,” Lily smiled happily. “Thank you. How do I call you?”

“Umm… how about Cal? That’s how everybody calls me.”

“Thank you, Cal. Daddy can I go get my crayons?”

“Of course, Sweetie. Make yourself at home, I’m gonna make some tea,” he said to Calum.

Calum smiled as he watched Lily set her book and crayons on the coffee table and took a seat on the floor, instantly opening it. He had never thought if Luke ever were to show up, he would have a kid that big but that was alright. Having a kid was not a problem but it seemed like the moment Luke left, he had moved on and settled down. He knew that was probably the reason why Ashton was not so keen about mending bonds with Luke. However, he also knew Ashton had the tendency to exaggerate things because it looked like Luke wanted to fix things as well. Calum lifted his eyes to look at Lily, who was looking at him, and he smiled at her. As opposed to Alex, who was naughty and rambunctious, Lily seemed quiet. Out of all the times Calum had met her, she always seemed to ask Luke before doing something. That was how he pictured his kids to be; quiet, well-behaved, nice, well, just like Lily. With all that said, he did not see himself having any in the near future. He again looked up at Lily, who was still staring at him and somehow, he got caught up in her eyes, her big bright green eyes.

“Shit!” Calum muttered and rushed out of the door.

Luke looked at the door that had closed with a loud bang and then at Lily. “What did you say, Honey?”

“I didn’t say anything. I was painting and he was looking at the floor without moving and then he was looking at me and he left. I didn’t do anything.”

Luke shrugged and went back to the kitchen; Calum was probably late for work, like he had said. He hoped that was the reason Calum had left and not something else because he was trying to get his friends back, not lose them again. He knew with Michael it was not a problem because Michael had seemed more than willing to forget the past and to start over. With Calum, he was not very sure, although when he had met Calum the first time, his reaction was positive. The brunette had seemed pretty friendly when he had showed up to drop Lily’s book but the way he had left, without saying anything, had left Luke unsure. Of course, about Ashton, nothing good could be said. From the moment they had met, Luke had sensed only negative vibes coming from him. Ashton had made it clear that he was not ready to forgive Luke and Luke knew he would have to work hard to get on Ashton’s good side but he was willing to do that. He was the one who messed things up and he would have to be the one to fix them.

“Lily, come get some breakfast. I’m making pancakes.”

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

Luke groaned when he heard the doorbell and he could not help but wonder what was up with him and doorbells that day. He got down the ladder and looked at his messy hands before making his way down the stairs. Who was visiting him anyway? He had just gotten that house, it was not his official address yet and he still had stuffs to do before he could move in. The house, in question, was luckily not far from his parents’ house, which was very convenient because that meant, he could easily drop Lily there and pick her up when he would be working; a job, he was planning on getting one as well soon but he did not know where he wanted to start looking first. He would get there but for the time being, he would just concentrate on the house and get it set up before he could move in. Holding the doorknob with his t-shirt, Luke opened the door and a frown instantly appeared on his face.

“Ashton?” The surprised tone in his voice was apparent and why not; Ashton was the person he had least expected to see there. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey,” Ashton smiled brightly. “Nice car, is it yours?” he pointed to the silver Lexus that was parked in the driveway.

“It clearly is not your since yours is parked on the road. So, obviously it’s mine.”

“I see the sarcastic humour is still here,” Ashton commented but smiled nonetheless.

“Why would I let go of it, I learnt it from you.”

“And I see that I taught you well,” he laughed. “How’re you doing mate?”

“Good and you?” Luke hugged Ashton back and let him in. “How did you know I was here?”

“I went to your parents’ house and your mom told me you were here. So, I figured I’d drop by to see if you needed any help.”

“Since you asked for it, get your ass upstairs and help me paint.”

“What are you painting?” he asked as the smell of fresh paint invaded his nostrils.

“The house.”

“All of it? Alone? Are you out of your mind? Why didn’t you call us for help? That’s what friends do.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you because you have a family now and you’re probably busy at work or with your kids,” Luke stated.

“Firstly, I work at a school and it’s closed on Saturdays, so, I wouldn’t be at work. Secondly, my kids are at my mom’s house with Bryana. And thirdly, you’re my family too.”

“Feels good to hear,” Luke smiled. “But I gotta say I could’ve guessed you wouldn’t be working on a Saturday but hello, I’m not a genius. How would I have known your kids weren’t home?”

“So, what’s the deal? You won a lottery or something? Big house, nice car.”

“I’m not that lucky. The house belongs to my grandparents and I got the car on instalment. That’s all, not a big deal.”

“Are we getting started or what?” Ashton asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and hung it onto the railing.

Luke stared at Ashton’s lean back, at his muscular arms and then at his toned chest. “When did you build up like this? I remember you being all skinny.”

“Hey, I was never skinny, I was slender. Calum was the one who was skinny. You don’t look so bad either.”

“Are you trying to hit on me?” Luke asked when he saw Ashton looking at him from head to toe and laughed.

“Duh, you’re not my type and I have a wife,” Ashton laughed too.

Ashton again laughed and shook his head as Luke said something about him being hot and being everybody’s type and he could not help but remember a younger version of Luke saying the same exact thing but it was always as a joke. It felt like Luke had not changed one bit, but Ashton being Ashton, did not want to jump to any conclusions just yet. He decided he would let time unravel who Luke really was. As for him, he would be there for Luke because unlike Luke, Ashton knew what it meant to be a friend, to there for each other, and that was what he was going to do, be there for Luke when he needed him and even when he did not need him. He knew he would not be saying things like those to anyone but that was how he felt. Ashton grabbed a spare roller and dipped it in the beige paint bucket before starting a new side of the master bedroom while Luke did another side. Luke had to admit he was quite happy he had someone to help him because if it was up to him, he would have taken at least one or two weeks to be done with it. He was even happier that it was Ashton because the simple fact that Ashton was there had cleared all the doubts that Luke had been having about him.

Ashton may act tough but Luke always knew that deep down he was as soft as Calum and Michael were and still cared about him. The fact that Ashton said he was family meant a great deal to him and Luke would have to make sure he did not let the people he loved down again. He dipped the roller in some more paint and covered the once white wall, wiping some sweat off his forehead before resuming his task. Ashton was right there and they were talking, laughing and joking around, just like old times and Luke had not felt happier since he was back; the picture would have been completed if Calum and Michael were there as well. They spent half the day painting and despite all the noises that they were making, Luke could still hear the loud grumble coming from Ashton’s stomach and he could not help but laugh at him. They had been so caught up that he did not realise so much time had passed and he was a little hungry himself. After doing the last part of the room that they were currently working on, they both went downstairs and waited for the pizzas that Luke had ordered.

“You never said why you went to look for me at my mom’s house,” Luke said as he took a big bite.

“Since everything is new to you, I just wanted to make sure you were alright or if you needed anything.”

“New?” Luke laughed. “Everything is pretty much the same as when I left.”

“Well, there is no harm in checking. No matter how old you are, I’ll always be older than you and I’ve to look out for you.”

“That’s sweet, thank you.”

“Don’t go all stranger with me, with all the thank you bullshit.”

“Alright, sorry… I still can’t believe you have two kids.”

“And I can’t believe you have one. You, out of all people… maybe if it was Calum… but you?”

“What’s wrong with me having a kid?”

“I mean, you’ve always been into guys and then you come back with a little girl.”

“Yeah, that was the past,” Luke said thoughtfully. “What’s up with Calum anyway? Doesn’t he already have a job?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I met him this morning and he told me he wanted to babysit Lily.”

“He’s doing it again. Be careful he steals her, he’s a kid-napper.”

“Yeah, right,” Luke laughed.

“Nope, he just loves children. The house looks good now, all painted. I think we did a good job.”

“No, not yet. We still have one more room to paint, Lily’s room.”

“What are we waiting for then?”

“Don’t you get tired? I’m exhausted,” Luke laughed.

“Exhausted? I did most of the job while you just kept sitting after every five minutes. What would you have done if I didn’t show up?”

Luke shook his head at the thought. “I don’t even want to think about that. So I’ve got these three colour and I wasn’t sure which one to pick. Pink, turquoise or light green.”

Ashton opened the three containers and looked at the content. “No for pink, too stereotypical. No for turquoise, too bold. Light green however, is perfect.”

“What? I say let’s go for pink. Lily will love it.”

“No, I say light green.”

“No, pink. Ashton, pink.”

“You should listen to the expert.”

“But pink is cute.”

“Who says green isn’t?”

“l’m certain Lily will like a pink room. She had one back in England.”

“See, it’s time for a change. Trust me, she’s gonna love the green and you, are gonna thank me, my friend.”

“Green it is then… but if she doesn’t like it, you’re gonna paint it pink yourself.”

Ashton crossed his arms and nodded. “Deal.”

Taking a deep breath, Ashton started on the window side of the wall while Luke looked around the room and at the paint on the tray, he was still not convinced about the colour but if Ashton was so sure, then he was not going to argue. He stretched his arms as he picked the roller and sighed; he really was tired and he longed for a long hot bath. The room was not as big as his was but his hands were giving up on him and they refused to listen to his brain. Luke looked at Ashton, who was actively painting, and he could not help but wonder how Ashton was doing it, without showing the faintest sign of tiredness on his face. He dropped to his feet and crossed his legs under him as he sat on the plastic that covered the carpet and watched Ashton. Since he had no energy left in him, he decided to supervise the whole operation and pointed a few spots that Ashton had supposedly missed; he was glad Ashton did not mind him. After most of the room was done, he had to admit the green did not look so bad and maybe, just maybe, Lily would like it.

“Hey, Luke? Can you come here for a sec? I think I missed a spot over here,” Ashton said as he placed a hand on his hip and examined the wall.

“Where?”

“Right here,” Ashton laughed as ran the roller over the front of Luke’s shirt.

“What?”

“You deserved that, for sitting and making me paint.”

“I told you I’m tired.”

Ashton shook his head and smiled. “So, what do you think?”

“Huh… it looks ok? I’m kidding, it looks great.”

“Gosh, look at the time. I should get going. I’ll catch you later. At the barbecue.”

“What barbecue?”

“The one you’ll be having at your house warming party? Did you forget?”

“Of course not. Next week end?”

“Sound great. See you.”

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

Luke tapped his foot on the dried grass as he waited for Calum, who had asked him to meet him at that abandoned park that they used to hang out when they were teenagers. Honestly, that place still freaked Luke out, whenever he was there alone. Calum was late, he should have been there thirty minutes earlier and he was not even answering his phone. It was starting to get darker and it looked like it was about to rain; Calum was going to hear from him if he was only playing a prank on him. Looking at the time on his phone again, Luke decided to go back home because it did not look like Calum would show up. He jolted when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“You fucking scared me,” he pressed a hand to his heart and said as he turned around to look at Calum.

“Hi. What’s up?”

“What’s up? I’ve been waiting for you in this creepy place since ages. What took you so long?”

“Sorry, I got caught up at work.”

“Why did you call me here? Why couldn’t come home? Or at least meet me in a better place, where people actually visit.”

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

“You call me here to ask me something?”

“Who’s Lily’s mother?” Calum stared at him.

“Huh…” Luke blinked at him, clearly taken aback by the question; he certainly was not expecting it. “Just someone… you don’t know her.”

“Really? Don’t give me that bullshit.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Let me clear things up then.”

**FLASHBACK**

“I think the way you said to put the couches is great,” Luke smiled as he looked around his furnished living room.

“I’m an expert, that’s why,” Calum laughed.

“Finally done with the house. I mean, almost done because I didn’t do Lily’s room yet. I still need to pick her bed and stuffs.”

“Yeah, there’re these boxes. Where do you want me to keep them?”

“Can you take them to the attic? I’ll keep these plates in the kitchen in the meantime.”

“Sure.”

Calum stacked the three boxes one on top of the other and made his way to the attic, making sure not trip because he could not see in front of him, considering they were blocking his view. He managed to reach the attic but the moment he passed the door, the box at the bottom broke, spilling its content on the floor and causing the other two to fall as well.

“Shit,” Calum said to himself; Luke was going to kill him.

Quickly, he gathered the things, according to the label of the boxes and started to clear the mess that he had made. If he set everything back in place, Luke would never know what happened up there. He was busy picking some papers when something caught his eyes. He saw a sonography photo but he just shrugged it off because it probably belonged to Lily’s mom. Then he saw it, a bunch of documents with Luke’s name of them; pregnancy related things. It did not make sense and he had to read them to clear things up in his mind.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

“I first had my doubts when I came to your house the other day and you went to make tea. Lily was staring at me and I knew those eyes were familiar, too familiar. How could I not have seen it immediately? I mean, I spent most of my life with someone who has same eyes. She has Michael’s eyes. It didn’t make sense. Why would she have Michael’s eyes? So I left because I was confused. I tried not to think about it because it was impossible, I mean, there was no way she could have Michael’s eyes.”

“Michael’s not the only person with green eyes,” Luke stated, looking anywhere else but at Calum.

“Lily’s yours and Michael’s daughter, right?”

Luke let out a laugh. “Listen to yourself. This is absurd. You know that’s impossible, right? Where did you even get such ideas?”

“I saw it. Your report, the documents… actually, it’s not as absurd as you’re making it sound. It makes sense. Lily is almost six and you’ve been gone for six years. It’s very much possible that you were pregnant when you left. Now that I’m thinking about it, that’s the reason you left, am I right?”

“Pregnant? How could I have been pregnant? I’m a guy, remember?”

“Do you want me to remind you what was written in the reports?” Calum raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

Luke slowly breathed in through his nose; it felt like someone had just pushed him off a cliff. Everything he had been trying to keep secret for the past six years had been revealed and set in the open. Calum knew and it would only be a matter of time before everyone else would know as well; Ashton, Michael, his parents. It was getting harder and harder to breathe and the air felt heavy in his lungs.

“Luke? Calm down and talk to me,” Calum shook his shoulders lightly.

“It’s over… everything is over,” he muttered.

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Lily is Michael’s daughter. Everyone will know and everyone will start hating me. I’m a freak.”

“That’s why you left. You were scared everybody will hate you.”

“I shouldn’t have come. This was a mistake.”

“No, Luke. You’re wrong. I still love you the same and I’m sure everyone else will too.”

“If you care about me, you have to promise me you won’t tell anyone.”

“What? Michael has the right to know.”

“No, promise me, Calum?”

 


	6. Trapped Under Your Spell

Michael rolled onto his other side and swallowed as he tried to fall asleep. He had been lying in his bed for so long but he was still as awake as when he had gotten there. He wanted to sleep but it seemed like sleep was refusing to come to him. The last time he went through that phase was when he was a teenager and that was a while ago. Normally it would happen to him when he was too excited for something or he was too tensed but at that moment, he was neither. The reason he could not sleep was Luke; thoughts of Luke invaded his mind and he could not get them out. He was impatient to meet Luke again, although he had met him the previous day. He had bumped into the younger boy in the streets and had ended up spending half the day with him while helping him pick furniture for Lily’s room. Since Luke had come back, every time Michael had wanted to see him, he had somehow found himself accidentally meeting him; he did not know if it was fate or a mere coincidence but whatever it was, it was always on Michael’s side. However, there was only one person who did not approve of that: Ashton.

Ashton’s sole argument was that they did not know that person Luke had grown into and he did not want Michael to keep his hopes up. Michael could not blame him because Ashton had seen him break down once and he knew Ashton did not want him to go through that again. Everything Ashton had said and was trying to do, Michael could sense concern in them. Ashton did not want that fire to light up in Michael’s chest again but what he did not know that the fire had never really been doused. He did not want Michael to fall in love with Luke but how could he when he had never stopped loving Luke? How could he when his heart had always only beaten for Luke? How could he when deep down, he knew that they would cross path again someday? That was the reason why Michael had never been able to be with anyone else, because his heart had never been able to let go of Luke. And Luke being back after so many years, was like a new ray of hope had been lit up inside of him. He knew Ashton was right to some extent but he would not do justice to his heart if he simply gave up without trying.

Lily’s arrival was a bit of a shock for him but he was past that initial reaction and he had to admit, he really liked her. Instead of being jealous of having to share Luke with a daughter, Michael was feeling none of those and he was actually very fond of her; besides, he knew he would never dislike anything that was a part of Luke. After six years, Luke had turned more mature, not just mentally but also physically, he was more responsible and most importantly, he was still the same nice person that he was, which made Michael love him even more. He was only thinking about Luke and he had that silly grin plastered on his face and his heart was racing in his chest; honestly, he was feeling a love-struck teenager all over again.

**Flashback**

“Michael…” Luke whined. “Let me sleeeeppp.”

“No, wake up,” Michael nudged the younger boy’s side, only to realise Luke was snoring lightly again.

“Michaaaeeelll,” Luke groaned when Michael rubbed his calf against his bare penis.

“Wake up Babe. It’s past nine. We’re supposed to go out.”

“We’ll go for lunch.”

“At this rate, we’ll still be here at dinner time. Come on, Luke, quit being lazy.”

“Doesn’t sound bad at all. I’ll get to be in bed with you all day,” he said with a smile.

“But we had plans…”

“I’m not running away. If we don’t go out today, we’ll go out tomorrow or the day after or…”

“Ok, ok, I get it. Anytime we want.”

“Exactly, we have our whole lives to do that.”

“I love you,” Michael said against his skin before pressing a kiss to his shoulder.

Biting the corner of his lower lip, Luke climbed on top of Michael and pressed their lips together briefly before pulling away slightly and looking into Michael’s eyes. “I love you more.”

Michael lifted his head off his pillow and connected their lips, pressing his lips firmly against Luke’s and pulling him back down. He placed his hands on Luke’s waist and trailed one of them up his back, until it was buried into Luke’s messy hair. On the other hand, Luke rested his elbows on either sides of Michael’s head, on the pillow, and he tilted his head to the side as he took Michael’s bottom lips between his own. The kiss was as slow as their morning was and neither of them was in a rush to take things further. They pulled away, rested their foreheads against one another and breathed against each other’s lips as they stared into the other’s eyes. They stayed like that for long minutes before going back to kissing, again moving their lips together at that same slow pace. Michael laughed against Luke’s lips when Luke shifted and pressed their penises together.

“I wish we could stay like this forever, with no one disturbing us or anyone ever coming in between,” Michael mumbled.

“No one and nothing can ever come between us. We’re like Velcro, even if we’re pulled apart, we’ll always come back to one another and get stuck together. It’s Michael and Luke forever.”

**End Of Flashback**

Michael let out a sigh at the memory; things were so simple back then. He and Luke were so in love and it seemed like nothing could separate them. However, nothing ever last forever; one week after that week-end, exactly one week, Luke was gone. Everything had changed, except for the way he felt. Every word he had ever said, he had meant them and he wished everything Luke had said were true. Had Luke been lying to him? He did not know what to believe, except for one thing: he had always listened to his heart and that was what he was going to do. His heart was telling him not go give up, not yet, not when Luke was so close and he still had a chance, maybe. But as planned, he was not going to rush into things because he still did not know how Luke felt about him and he would just wait a little longer to see how things went. Michael yawned and turned to the other side as he looked at the time on his phone. He had been on his bed for nearly three hours and he figured it was about time he slept.

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

“Honey, can you see who it is?” Luke called from the kitchen when he heard the doorbell.

Lily climbed onto the chair that was by the window and peered outside, as she tugged the thin curtain aside. “It’s Mimi. Do I let him in?” she shouted back.

“Of course, I’ll be right there.”

“Hi, Mimi,” Lily smiled as she struggled to pull the door open.

Michael smiled at the sight of her; she was wearing a bright pink tutu dress, had a tiara on her head and she had flour on her cheeks. “Hey there, Princess. Can I come in?”

“Yes, daddy is in the kitchen and the kitchen is other there.”

“It’s over there, Honey, not other there,” Luke said to the little girl and smiled at Michael. “Hey, what a nice surprise.”

“Yeah, I was around and I thought I’d bring you a little house warming gift.”

“House warming gift?” Luke raised his eyebrows.

“Yep. Here you go. And I have something for you too,” he turned to Lily.

Lily smiled brightly as she took the wrapped box from Michael’s hands. “Daddy, can I open it now?” The moment Luke nodded, she tore the wrapper. “I’m going to put it with my other dolls.”

“Lily, don’t leave the wrapping on the floor,” Luke said to the girl, who was already making her way up the stairs. He sighed and picked it up himself when she ignored him.

“She’s just like you, leaving a mess everywhere,” Michael laughed. “Except, she’s more well-mannered because you never used to ask permission for random things.”

“Are you kidding? If you weren’t here, she would not have asked me. When it’s just me and her, she tends to be a little wild,” Luke said and added in his head, ‘just like you’. “She’s shy only around people she doesn’t know.”

“But she knows me.”

“She only recently met you.”

“Anyways, aren’t you going to open your gift?”

“What is it?”

“Well, open it,” Michael urged.

Luke gently open the wrapping paper, revealing what was hidden inside. “A vase? What would I do with a vase?”

“Huh… normal people put flowers in them. Maybe you could do that too when you get some.”

“Who would give me flowers?”

“I don’t know… people?”

“Very funny Michael but thank you for the gift,” Luke shook his head, placed the vase on a table and walked back to the kitchen.

“You did a good job to the house, you totally transformed it,” Michael commented as he followed Luke. “I remember it used to be dull, shady and smelly,” he laughed as Luke turned on his heels to glare at him but also ended up laughing.

“Yeah, but you’d still loved to sneak in at night to meet me.” The moment that left his mouth, they both fell silent. Okay, he had not meant to say that and it had just come out of his mouth while reminiscing old times. “Sorry…” he mumbled and turned away.

Michael bit his lips as he thought about what to say next so as to not make the situation more awkward than it already was. “Hey, it’s ok… we had some good times and I don’t hold anything against you. So, you never told me how you did all this on your own. I’d have helped if you had asked.”

“I did call but Ashton said you were busy and I figured you didn’t want to be bothered.”

“What? Don’t you know you should never listen to Ashton? He’s mad.”

“Yeah a little mad but he did help me paint the house.”

“Ashton?” Michael looked at him with a surprised expression. “He came over?”

“Yeah, I was as surprised as you are but we had a great time. We had loads of fun,” Luke smiled.

“Really?” Michael frowned.

“Why do you sound so shocked? He’s my best friend too.”

“No, it’s nothing. So, what are you making? It smells nice.”

“Cupcakes for tomorrow,” Luke pulled the tray out of the oven and placed it on the counter.

“Cupcakes for a barbecue?” Michael raised an eyebrow but ended up laughing.

“Yeah, why not? Lily loves them and she wanted to have them tomorrow.” Just as Luke was transferring the ones he had removed from the oven to another tray, which contained other that he had already iced, Michael reached for one and brought it to his lips. “Hey, you aren’t supposed to take that.”

“Hmm… this is… delicious,” Michael closed his eyes and hummed. “When did you learn to cook? I mean, you couldn’t even make yourself a cup of coffee.”

“That’s not true. I could cook,” Luke protested.

“Ok, what did you know how to make? The only thing I remember you ever making was toast,” Michael laughed.

“Mean,” Luke made a face, which caused Michael to laugh even harder.

“And the funniest part is, you’re now a better cook than Ashton, who already knew how to cook.”

“You’re still mean.”

“And you’re still so childish.”

“Daddy, you said I could not eat cupcake today. Why is Mimi eating?”

“He’s not eating, he’s tasting.”

“I want one too.”

“No, Sweetie, they’re for tomorrow.”

“Ok,” Lily nodded and tried to climb on a bar stool, beside Michael.

Michael smiled and helped her up. “Hey you know what? You can have mine,” he whispered and gave her the cake before winking at her.

“Michael,” Luke warned. “You aren’t supposed to teach her bad manners.”

“I’m not, I’m actually teaching her good manners; sharing is caring. Can I help you with anything else that you’re making?”

“No, I’m good. If I need something, I’ll let you know.”

“Mimi, are you staying?”

“Huh… not really. I just came to say hi.”

“But last time daddy needed help, uncle Jack stayed. Please, I’ll show you my new room.”

“I don’t know…”

“Please… daddy ask him to stay.”

“She’s insisting,” Luke said as he looked at Michael. “She likes you. Usually she doesn’t like anyone staying over… it’s always been me and her, you know…”

“Yeah, I get it and if it’ll her happy, I’ll stay tonight.”

“Yay, yay, yay,” Lily chanted loudly as she bounced in the chair.

Luke lifted his eyes from the cupcake that he was currently icing and looked at Michael and Lily, who were talking and laughing on the other side of the island counter. Suddenly all kind of questions were rushing through his mind; how come Michael showed up so suddenly? How come Michael was acting so close to Lily? Did Calum talk to Michael? Did Calum tell him? Since he had met Calum the other day, he had not really had a word with him yet and the simple thought of Calum telling Michael the truth scared him. A shiver ran down his spine and he almost dropped the piping bag that was in his hand. He quickly pushed that thought away; he would not jump to any conclusion before talking to Calum. Besides, if Michael knew the truth, he would not have been sitting there, acting all casual, he would have been asking Luke thousands of questions about how, why, and so on but none of those were happening, which was a good sign. However, he also knew that Michael was a sensible person and he would wait for the right time and opportunity to bombard him with questions.

Taking a deep breath, Luke directed his attention back to his cupcakes, which he was almost done icing, while repeating to himself that he could trust Calum. Luke again lifted his head when Lily let out a loud giggle and he smiled at the scene. It was the first time he had seen her interact that way with someone she barely knew and he could not help but wonder if it was because of the connection they shared or it was simply natural. Luke raised an eyebrow when Michael picked Lily up and while still laughing, the little girl wrapped her arms around Michael’s neck and hugged him as he walked them out of the kitchen. Momentarily, Luke felt a pang of jealousy because it had always been Lily and him in that bubble but he brushed it away as he realised he was rather happy that they were getting along well. He quickly finished up what he was doing and after wiping his hands in a towel, he went to see what they were up to.

“There you are, I was looking for you everywhere,” Luke said as he leant against the doorframe of Lily’s bedroom.

“You thought I ran away with her?” Michael laughed.

“No, you wouldn’t. Besides, I’d have found you, both of you,” Luke stated as he dropped himself on the floor beside them. “What are you doing?”

“She wanted to show me some pictures of when she was a baby,” Michael smiled. “But she did not find any.”

“Oh Honey, you’re still a baby,” Luke shook his head as he pulled her into his lap. “I was thinking about ordering pizza for dinner, how does that sound?”

“I love pizza,” Lily grinned.

“Yeah, pizza sounds cool,” Michael nodded.

**A Few Hours Later…**

Lily wrapped her arms tighter around Luke’s waist as she tried to keep her eyes on the television. They were sitting on the couch, with Lily between Luke and Michael, and watching a movie that she had picked. It was halfway through the movie and her eyes were threatening to close but she tried to keep them open, even though Luke had asked her to go to sleep twenty minutes earlier. Luke looked down at her and patted her shoulder.

“Let’s get you to bed.”

“But the movie is not over,” she mumbled.

“You can watch that tomorrow. Hey, Michael, pick another movie, we can watch when I come back.”

Michael nodded and smiled as he watched Luke as he picked her up and walked towards the stairs. He still could not believe he was staying the night at Luke’s house; even though, it was technically not Luke who had asked him to stay, he felt like he was one step closer to Luke and that thought alone made him happy inside. While growing up, he had spent so many nights in that house when Luke was staying over at his grandparents’ and he was sneaking in to meet him; they had shared so many memories in there and most of them were unforgettable. There was that time when he wanted to sneak in through the window and had climbed on that really old tree that happened to be in front of Luke’s bedroom and his shirt had gotten stuck in the branches. They had spent half an hour to get him free and he had almost fallen to the ground but Luke had grabbed his hand before he could and had pulled him inside. His heart was racing and they had stayed there, lying side by side on the floor by the window, for another half hour until Michael burst out laughing, causing Luke to laugh as well. They had woken Luke’s grandma up and they had almost gotten caught that night but thankfully Michael hid under the bed and Luke had told her that he was chatting with his friend on Facebook and she left them alone after he apologised for being too loud.

There was also that time when he had sneaked in, again, and he was in the shower with Luke. They were in the middle of having sex and were being a little loud when Luke’s mom had knocked on the bathroom door. Considering Luke’s parents did not know that they were together, they thought the worst was about to come. They had stayed quiet but it did not seem like his mom was going to move anytime soon and yes, she knocked again. They were running out of excuses but then Luke had told her he was trying to pluck his eyebrows and thus, the noises. Michael had laughed at him for a whole week after that because the sounds he made while having sex was nothing close to the sounds he would make if he was actually plucking his eyebrows and he could still remember how embarrassed Luke was to face his mom for days following that event. Calum and Ashton laughed so hard when Michael had told them about it and for Luke, it was like the worst thing he had ever been through but in the end, he had laughed along. For all they knew, his mom might have been thinking he was jerking off in the bathroom. From that day, they had decided not to ever have sex at Luke’s house or his grandparents’ house.

“What are you smiling at?” Luke asked as he walked back into the room.

“Huh… just a joke somebody told me the other day.”

“What is it about?”

“Nothing… it’s really not that funny.”

“You were smiling to yourself; that must mean it was pretty funny. I wanna hear it.”

“Actually, it’s not really a joke. It’s just something that happened some time ago.”

“You can tell me,” Luke wriggled his eyebrows and dropped himself beside Michael, almost regretting that action when he sat a little too close to Michael, causing their hips to bump. Clearing his throat, Luke shifted, so that there was a space between them and asked again. “Are you gonna tell me?” he made a face when Michael shook his head before tickling Michael’s side. “Tell meeee…”

“You’re still so whiny,” Michael commented with a laugh as he pushed Luke hand away. “Ok, I just remembered that time when Ashton, Calum and I watched that horror movie and Calum was scared to death. He was so scared that he did not want to be alone. He even spent the night in my room and hugged me all night. The situation was pretty hilarious and Calum’s face was priceless.”

“I bet you never let him see the end of that,” Luke laughed as he tried to picture the scene.

“Never.”

“What about you? Weren’t you scared? I mean, you were always scared when we used to watch scary movies.”

“Come on, I’m twenty-five now, I’m not gonna be scared because of a movie,” Michael said confidently.

“Is that so? Ok then, we’re watching a scary movie tonight,” Luke grinned and picked a DVD before inserting it into the player and turning off the lights.

“Why are you turning the lights off?”

“Are you scared?” Luke laughed.

“What?” Michael snorted. “I’m not scared. I was just asking, in case Lily wakes up.”

“Don’t worry, she doesn’t usually wake up at night. Shall we?”

As Michael nodded, Luke pressed the play button and eyed the other boy as he was convinced Michael was only pretending not to be scared. He glanced at Michael, who crossed his arms over his chest proudly and folded his legs under him, and another little laugh left his mouth; it looked more than obvious that Michael was faking it. All he had to do was wait for how long Michael would be able to hold that bluff. As the minutes went by, Michael concentrated hard on keeping his eyes glued to the screen; although, what he was really looking at for the past twenty minutes was the various photo frames that were on the two sides of the TV, despite not really seeing much, considering the lights were off. He still did not like horror movies and even if he had claimed not to be scared of them anymore, they still gave him the creeps. Michael let out a shriek when Luke slyly ran two fingers up his arm before bursting out laughing.

“Shhh…” Luke managed through his laughter. “You’ll wake Lily up.”

“Why the fuck would you do that? Are you fucking nuts? You nearly gave me a heart attack,” Michael stated as he pressed a palm to his chest.

“I thought you weren’t scared.”

“I’m not… huh… the movie is boring and I was falling asleep. You jolted me.”

“Yeah, yeah… I know all…”

Michael grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, earning a little protest from Luke. “Like I said, the movie is boring.”

“I wonder when you’re gonna admit that you’re actually scared.”

“I’m never gonna admit that because it’s not true.”

“Yeah, let’s go to bed.”

**37 Minutes Later…**

Luke opened his eyes when he heard his door open and saw Michael peeking inside. He frowned but then pretended to be fast asleep as Michael tip-toed towards the bed before quietly making his way to the couch that was in the corner and making himself comfortable there. When he heard Michael’s light snores, Luke shook his head and let out a soft chuckle; he was right, Michael was scared. Grabbing a spare blanket, he walked over to the other male and knelt on the floor, beside him as he spread it over his body. He smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of Michael’s eyes before letting his fingers thread lightly through Michael’s hair, causing Michael to let out a happy sigh.

“Scaredy-cat,” Luke whispered. “Sweet dreams.”

 


	7. Same Old Story

“Luuukkkee…”

Luke turned around and laughed as he spotted Calum striding towards him and before he knew it, he was being pulled into a hug. It was the first time he was meeting Calum in a week, after their little encounter at the park, and he had to admit he was happy to see the brunette again. He had so many things to talk to Calum about but before he could say anything, Jack had pulled him away and towards the grill. The barbecue had barely started and he could tell he was going to have a blast; and why would he not, all of his favourite people in the world were there. A few months ago when he was still away, he had that fear and apprehension in his gut about how everybody would react but at that moment, he could not have felt happier because everybody was there and they were all happy to have him back; they even loved Lily. He let his eyes drift to Lily, who was laughing and running around with Alex, and when the little boy chased after her with a toy gun, she ran to hide behind her grandpa. Everything was perfect and Luke was glad that he had made the decision to come back and for the first time, he knew he was not going to regret it.

“Love what you did to the house,” Ben said when Luke took a seat beside him.

“Yeah, I thought it needed a new touch. So, I repainted it.”

“You painted?” Ashton interrupted. “You painted. You mean, Ashton painted while Luke was watching.”

Luke let out an embarrassed chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, Ashton painted. Actually, I wanted to remodel the house and I got lots of help from Ashton, Calum and Michael. This wouldn’t have happened without them.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Ben said with a smile and Ashton nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, that’s what best friends are for,” Luke corrected and the moment that left his mouth, Ashton pulled him into a hug.

“Dad?” Alex patted Ashton’s arm lightly. “Is everyone here?”

“Yes, why?”

“Can we have the cake?”

Ashton laughed and shook his head. “Sweety, it’s not a birthday party, it’s a barbecue.”

“What’s a barbicute?”

“It’s a thing we have, where we get together, have fun, play around and we eat.”

“I’m going to play,” he said as he turned on his heels.

“He’s just like you, crazy,” Luke smiled.

“I wasn’t crazy.”

“Yeah, you were worst.”

“Oh, fuck you. I never gave my mom a hard time.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

“Yeah, the crazy one would have been Michael.”

“Michael was never crazy.”

“I have no comments. You’ve always sided Michael. Alex, don’t do that buddy. I’ll be right back.”

Luke sighed; the mere mention of Michael made Luke’s mind drift off to the other. He looked at all the people gathered in his backyard and then let his eye wander at the door. Michael was late and he could not help if he really was or he was just missing the party. However, Luke shook his head at that thought; that could not be because the previous day when Michael had come over, he was pretty excited about the barbecue and it did not seem like he would be missing it. Unless of course, Calum had told him the truth and he was mad at Luke and did not want to see him again. Luke let his eyes drift to Calum, who was talking and laughing with Ben and Jack, and Luke again shook his head. Calum had given him his word and he trusted Calum. Calum would never do that to him and then come to his party to have fun. Besides, if Michael knew, Ashton would definitely have known and if Ashton knew, he would not have been sitting and talking to Luke; instead, he would have been brainwashing him. Damn! Why were things always so complicated? He was brought out of his thoughts when Lily ran past him, bumping into him in the process, and he turned to look at her as she ran towards Michael.

“Hey there, Princess,” Michael smiled widely.

“Mimi, you came. You did not meet me in the morning.”

“Yeah, you were still sleeping when I left. Sorry about that.”

“It’s ok. Come on, daddy is waiting for you,” she said as she tugged on his hand.

“Really?”

“Yes, he was waiting for everybody to come.”

“Hi, what have you got there?” Luke asked as he pointed to the bouquet in Michael’s hand.

“Flowers for your vase.”

“I thought they were for me.”

“Actually, they’re for Lily.”

“OK, you got me there. Anyways, what took you so long?”

“I went to get these and I wasn’t really sure which flower to pick.”

“They’re beautiful. Let me put them in the vase, for Lily,” Luke laughed as he walked away.

Michael smiled at his retreating figure and then turned his head around to look at the guests; everybody was there already and it seemed like he was the only one running late. Getting himself a beer, he walked to Calum, who was currently at the grill.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Those were really nice flowers you got for Luke,” Calum pointed out without taking his eyes off the burgers.

“They were for Lily,” he stated; although he kept telling people the flowers were for Lily, deep down he knew that he had brought them for Luke.

“And I’m your best friend.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That I know you well enough.”

**40 Minutes Later…**

Luke grabbed Michael’s arm and tugged on it. “Come with me.”

“What?” Michael frowned but allowed himself to be pulled upstairs. “What are we doing here?”

“I need help and you were the closest to the door.”

“OK. What do you need help with?”

“I need to go to pee.”

Michael laughed. “You’re not a baby. Go to the bathroom.”

“You don’t understand.”

“What’s there not to understand? It’s simple. You go to the bathroom, you open your pants and you pee.”

“That’s the thing. My zipper is stuck,” Luke bit his lip as he looked at Michael.

Michael cleared his throat. “So, you want me to open your pants?”

“Yes,” Luke nodded as he made sure not to make eye contact with Michael.

“Can’t you just pull them down?”

“I tried but they’re skinny jeans and they’re too tight... please?”

“Ok, come here.”

Michael sat on the edge of the bed and motioned for Luke to come closer. Once Luke was standing in front of him, he reached for the zipper of his jeans with shaky fingers. The situation felt so awkward for both of them and they both tried to concentrate on the task rather than the fact that they were so close to each other. They had been in that position countless times in the past and neither of them could help the memories from coming to them.

**++ Flashback ++**

Pulling away from the kiss, Luke tugged on Michael’s lower lip before letting out a laugh and pushing Michael on the bed. They were in their underwear, making out in Michael’s room while Michael’s parents were visiting his grandma, and the temperature in the room had considerably increased in the past half an hour. Luke bit his bottom lip as he looked at Michael, who was lying on his back; the older boy was flushed, his lips were already swollen, his hair was sticking in every direction, his chest was rapidly rising and falling and he could not miss the obvious bulge in his boxers. Michael looked so irresistible at that moment and it made Luke’s heart race and the blood in his veins were rushing, causing him to be flushed as well. Michael propped himself of his elbows and looked at Luke, who was rubbing his erection with a hand. Shifting to a sitting position, he hooked his fingers under the elastic of Luke’s boxers and pulled the younger boy to him. He then placed his hands on his hips and pressed a kiss to his hipbone. His mouth moved along the waistband of the undies and then higher up as he laid open-mouth kisses to Luke’s stomach.

Slowly, he pulled the blue boxers down Luke’s leg and inched his face closer to Luke’s penis. Michael wrapped his hand around the base and gently pumped it as he kept kissing his way down to Luke’s erection. Looking into Luke’s eyes, he enclosed his mouth around the head of his dick and lightly sucked on it. He pulled back a little and ran his tongue around the head before again taking it into his mouth. Gradually, he took more and more of the length in and pulled out halfway before taking him in again. Luke closed his eyes and tilted his head backward as he let himself be engulf by Michael’s mouth. One of his hands was buried into Michael’s hair and the other one was running up and down his own chest while he was breathing heavily through his mouth. He traced a line down the middle of his upper body, until he had that hand buried into Michael’s hair as well, and he gently tugged on the locks. As his hips started moving back and forth on their own, Michael placed a hand on Luke’s hips to hold him in place while he trailed his other hand to Luke’s balls.

The speed at which Michael’s mouth was moving onto Luke’s length changed from a slow and steady one to a faster one. He kept sucking on his penis while Luke’s hips were moving in short and rapid thrusts. Luke’s knees felt weak and with a cry, he emptied himself into Michael’s mouth. Pulling away, Michael swallowed everything while looking at Luke, who was looking down at him, and he pulled Luke into his lap before connecting their mouths.

**++ End of Flashback ++**

Ashton took a look around himself and frowned. Everyone was talking and laughing, except for two people, who did not seem to be anywhere, and Ashton dreaded what might happen if those two were left alone. He made his way inside and up the stairs after Calum had told him he had seen them going in that direction. He quietly opened the door and his mouth dropped open at the scene displayed in front of him; Michael was sitting on the edge of the bed, with Luke standing between his legs, and it seemed like Michael was giving Luke a blowjob, judging by the way they were slightly moving. Technically, Luke was nervous to be in that position and that was the reason why Michael had a hand on his hip, to hold him steady while he himself was having a hard time fidgeting with the zipper with a shaky hand but Ashton did not know all that and in his eyes, they were doing things that they should not be. He thought he had made his point clear when he had told Michael to keep away from Luke. However, it looked like everything he had said had fallen onto deaf ears because Michael always did what he wanted to do and that was what he was doing at the moment. It was not like he did not trust Luke but six years was a lot and it was also sufficient for somebody to change. He wondered when Michael would start seeing things from his point of view and start listening to him

“What the hell, guys?” he said out loud, causing the two of them to turn to look at him and all of a sudden, the stuck zipper opened. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Ashton, it’s not what you think,” Michael got up and walked to him.

“I know what I saw.”

Ignoring those two, Luke rushed out of the room and down the corridor.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Ashton called but Luke was gone. “You better start talking now,” he added as he turned his attention back to Michael. “I told you to stay away from him.”

“We weren’t doing anything.”

“Yeah, you weren’t doing anything but his pants were open and his face was flushed. Do you think I’m a fool?”

“Yes, you are. And this is a big misunderstanding. I was only helping him.”

“By getting in his pants?”

“No… his zipper was stuck and I was just trying to get them undone. That’s all.”

“Yeah right,” Ashton rolled his eyes. “What if someone else had walked in? The kids or Luke’s parents for example? What would have happened? Couldn’t you have locked the door?”

“Ashton, please, not now, not here. This story is starting to get old.”

“And yet, you don’t wanna listen to me.”

“Oh wait, you told me to stay away from Luke, right? What are you doing?”

“What?”

“I was told that you spent the whole day here, having fun with Luke.”

“I was only helping him out.”

“But you still spent the day with him. Why can you do that and I can’t?”

“Because I’m not interested in Luke and I don’t crave for him sexually.”

“What? That’s bullshit; I don’t crave for him sexually.”

“And what was it about you staying last night? I heard Lily telling you. So, don’t even try to lie.”

“Stop acting like you’re my dad, gosh.”

“I’m waiting for an explanation.”

“I have none for you because you’re clearly over-seeing things here, dad.”

Michael turned to leave but Ashton grabbed his hand and prevented him from doing so. “You’re not leaving before answering my question.”

“Lily asked me to stay. I did it because of her. I couldn’t break her heart. That’s all. And if I wanna meet Luke, I’m gonna meet Luke.”

“You can spend as much time as you want with Luke as long as you don’t let him get to you. I’m doing this for your good. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

“I know, Ash. For now, stop hurting your brain with these things and let’s get something to eat.”

Michael followed Ashton back outside and grabbed another beer. He wondered how Ashton could say Luke was trying to get to him when all Luke had been doing since he came back was keep his distance. Even though Luke had been talking and laughing with him, it was like he always had his guards up and there was that wall around him that Michael could not get through. It almost seemed like Luke had moved on and only wanted to be his friends but Ashton was the only one to see things from that weird angle. Deciding to push those thoughts aside, he walked to the table to take a cupcake but before he could take the last one, Ashton reached for it faster and brought it to his mouth.

“I was going to take that,” Michael groaned.

“My bad,” Ashton laughed.

“Never mind, I’m gonna get some more from the kitchen.”

**Meanwhile…**

Calum hummed as he made his way to the fridge to get some more chill beers but before he could open it, Luke turned him around. “What?”

“We need to talk.”

“Right now?” Calum raised an eyebrow.

Luke sighed. “Yes.”

“Here?”

Looking around them, Luke nodded. “Did you talk to Michael?”

“Huh… yes I did…”

“What? But you promised.”

“I never promised you that I won’t talk to Michael.”

Luke rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I mean. You know what I’m talking about.”

“That Lily’s Michael’s daughter? No, I didn’t…”

“Shhh…” Luke pressed his palm to Calum’s lips and looked at the door. “Stop saying it. What if somebody hears you?”

“Luke, everyone is outside.”

“You never know. You didn’t tell him, did you?”

“No I didn’t. I gave you my word, didn’t I? Like I said, if Michael has to know, it should be from you, not me, not anyone else.”

“I’m not gonna tell him.”

“One day you’ll have to tell him.”

“I’m never gonna tell him anything. This is only between me and you.”

“You can’t keep it secret forever. I had my doubts before I saw the papers. Sooner or later, even if I or you don’t say anything, somebody else is going to figure it out.”

“Stop, I don’t need you to freak me out right now.”

“Aww… come here,” Calum mumbled and pulled Luke into a hug. He smiled when Luke nuzzled into his neck as he rubbed the other’s back comfortingly.

Michael stopped dead in his track when he reached the kitchen; there in front of him were Luke and Calum, kissing? Calum was pressed against the counter and Luke was standing close in front of him, too close for Michael’s liking. The way Luke’s head was moving, there was no doubt they were doing anything else other than kissing. No, Michael shook his head at the thought; Calum would never do that to him, especially not when he knew Michael was still in love with Luke. They were whispering to each other and despite all the efforts he made to listen, he could not hear anything, except for something that sounded like ‘me and you’. There were more whisperings, shaking of the head and nodding but Michael was still clueless as to what was happening. Then something happened that made his heart drop: Calum pulled Luke into a hug and Luke was clearly kissing his neck. Turning on his heels, he walked back outside and set the empty tray back on the table.

“Where are the cupcakes? I thought you went to get more,” Ashton asked, the moment Michael was back but Michael only shrugged. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Michael mumbled before briskly turning to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“Home,” he called, without taking a last look at Ashton.

He walked to his car and got inside, taking a deep breath before starting the engine. What had he just seen? Were Calum and Luke kissing? Why would they be kissing? He knew what he had seen though and his eyes could not be deceiving him. He did not know what to think of that; his best friend and his boyfriend? Well, Luke was not exactly his boyfriend at the moment but he was and Michael had plans to get back with him again. Were Luke and Calum in love with each other? Was Calum the reason Luke was back? There was a weird and unknown feeling pooling in his stomach and he could not describe it. It made him feel sick; his stomach was twisting and turning and he wanted to throw up. He felt hurt, disappointed, crushed but yet angry, at Luke, at Calum and mostly at himself. His palms were sweaty against the steering wheel and before he knew it, his eyes welled up. Michael stopped his car on the side of the road and closed his eyes, letting the tears roll down his cheeks.

 


	8. Being A Friend

When his phone vibrated on his nightstand, Michael groaned and reached for it; it was Sunday, it was six in the morning and he was still in bed, although he had been awake for a while, and only an idiot would send him a text at that time. He yawned when he saw that it was a text from Luke. Since that party at Luke’s house two weeks ago, he had not really talk to Luke or to Calum. He felt betrayed by his two best friends and he was still not quite sure how to digest that fact. If Calum was interested in Luke, the least the brunette could have done was to tell him because Calum knew that he was still very much in love with Luke; at least, he would not have kept his hopes up. Three days earlier, he had decided to meet Luke and clear things up but when he reached Luke’s house and saw Calum’s car in front of it, he drove back home, without meeting neither of them and without feeling much better than before. He felt lonely because there was no one he could really could talk to, except for Ashton but he could not talk to Ashton since Ashton had told him, even warned him, to stay away from Luke from the beginning. If only he had listened. Just when he was about to set the phone away, he got another text from Luke.

Michael let out a sigh and decided to open them.

_‘Are you free today?’_

And then there was the second one, which was sent two minutes later.

_‘Are you still sleeping?’_

Michael let out a laugh; if he was still sleeping and did not answer the first message, why would Luke even bother sending another one, asking if he was awake? The chances were that he would ignore the second one as well. Deciding to ignore them, Michael pulled the sheet over his shoulders and closed his eyes before quickly opening them again when he realised what Luke had asked. If Luke wanted to know if he was free, that could only mean he wanted to hang out and Michael was willing to do that; actually, he was dying to spend time with Luke. A smile instantly appeared on his face as he reached for his phone and he was about to reply Luke’s texts but shook his head; he was going to call him instead.

“Hey?” Michael smiled when Luke answered.

“Did I wake you up?”

“No, I was awake, just still in bed.”

“Do you have any plans for today?”

“Besides staying in bed? Not really. Why?” Michael grinned when Luke let out a laugh.

“I was thinking that maybe we could go out for a picnic… you know by that river we used to go to when we were younger.”

“Omg… I haven’t been there in ages. That sounds awesome. Let’s do it.”

“I knew you’d like that. I already asked Calum and he said yes. We’ll meet you there at 10?”

 _Oh, Calum was going too_ , why was he not surprised? The wide grin that he had on his face had vanished and it was replaced by a frown. Calum was going and Luke was going with him, if he understood right. Why could things never go the way he wanted them to? When Luke had come back, he had thought fate had brought them back to each other but it was starting to look like it was not his fate but Calum’s fate that brought Luke back.

“Michael, are you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah… I’ll meet you there.”

Before Luke had time to say anything else, Michael had hung up; suddenly, he was not so keen to spend time with Luke. He tossed the phone on the mattress beside him and punched his pillow a few times before letting out a muffled groan in that same pillow. He stayed like that, with his face buried in the pillow, for long minutes and shifting to a sitting position, he sighed. Before becoming his boyfriend-lover, Luke was his best friend and he still was and so was Calum. Even if he was not the one who would eventually get Luke, he was going to be happy, for Luke and Calum, his best friends. He knew it was going to be hard but that was what he was going to do. He also knew his jealousy was going to kick in from time to time but he would have to deal with it, at least until he learnt to control it. However, before all that, there was something else he had to do. Smirking to himself, Michael again reached for his phone.

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

After his phone call with Michael earlier that morning, phone call which Michael had ended quite abruptly, Luke had stared at his phone for long minutes. He was surprised, confused and mostly hurt by Michael’s behaviour. He had thought that Michael had buried the past behind and they could start afresh, with being good friends, like they used to be but he was starting to think he was wrong. Michael was acting distant and that started since that barbecue at his house; the same barbecue that Michael had left without saying a word. It had been two weeks since that day and he was quite surprised he had not heard from Michael at all during that period. He knew things had changed in six years and that Michael had moved on, he had a job and he was busy but still, that was no excuse to forget your friends. And why was he suddenly so busy? Because he clearly had plenty of times to meet Luke before. He wanted to spend more time with Michael, as much as he was spending with Ashton and Calum, but it looked like Michael did not want it that way. Mumbling some incomprehensive things to himself, he reached for another item to pack in the basket.

“Daddy? What are you doing?”

Luke looked up at the sound of Lily’s voice and he stared at the little girl, who was looking back at him with questioning eyes. It was then that he realised that he had his mug in hand and he was about to pack that. Looking into the basket, he also realised he had folded his apron and neatly set it in the basket, along with the jar of peanut butter. On the contrary, the sandwiches that he had prepared as well as the lemonade were still on the counter. Luke sighed; after so many years, Michael still had that effect on him. He shook his head and removed all the unnecessary things from the basket to replace them with the lunch.

“Now we’re ready,” he smiled as he again looked at Lily.

“Let’s go.”

“We can’t yet,” Luke said as he led her back into the living room.

“Why not?”

“Because Calum is coming to pick us up. He will be here soon.”

“When is soon?”

“In a few minutes.”

Lily took a seat on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest as she swung her legs alternatively. “Is it a few minutes?”

“No,” Luke laughed; he remembered doing that to his mom too when he was little.

“Daddy, I want to go to the pitnic. Tell uncle Cal to come.”

“Uncle Cal is here. Let’s go to the pitnic,” Calum announced with a wide grin as he stepped inside.

**47 minutes later**

“Are you sure he’s coming?” Calum asked after looking at the time on his phone again.

“Yes, Calum. For the fifth time, yes. He told me he’d meet us here at 10.”

“It’s 10:21.”

“And we reached like 10 minutes ago. Maybe he got delayed too.”

“What if he changed his mind?”

“He wouldn’t,” Luke said confidently. Although, seeing how Michael had been acting the past days, he totally could ditch them.

“Maybe he went to meet his girlfriend,” Calum shrugged.

“He has a girlfriend?” Luke turned his head to the side to look at Calum.

“No silly, I’m the only boyfriend he has.”

“You guys… you’re dating?” Luke blinked at him.

“No, I’m only messing with you. You should see your face. You’re still so fucking in love with him.”

“What? That’s bullshit.”

“It’s so obvious. It’s written all over your face, dude.”

Luke let out a nervous laugh. “I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“You’re in love with Michael.”

“Shh…” Luke quickly looked at Lily, who was picking some wild flowers. “Lily might hear and it’s not true.”

“You may have been gone for six years but I’m still your best friend and I can tell when you’re lying or not.”

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Luke looked at him expectantly.

“Your secrets are safe with me. But seriously, if you don’t want anyone to know, you have to be more subtle.”

“I know. I think you’re right. Michael is not coming,” Luke sighed.

Calum was about to say something when they heard a car approaching and a couple of seconds later, he could hear Ashton’s high-pitched laughter. “Ashton? You didn’t tell me that Ashton was coming.”

“I didn’t know Ashton was coming.”

“That explains why Michael is late. Guys, we’re here,” Calum said loudly as he waved at them.

“I think they saw us already,” Luke shook his head.

“Hey guys. Sorry for making you wait. I had to wait for an eternity for Ashton to get ready.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault. I had to get my kids ready. You’ll know when you have kids of your own,” Ashton defended as he slapped Michael in the arm.

“You were sitting comfortably on the couch while Bryana was getting them ready. You can’t complain.”

Ignoring Michael, Ashton turned to Luke and Calum. “I see you’ve found us a nice spot.”

“Yeah, we can hang out here for a bit, get some lunch and then walked further down the river.”

“Then we can skinny dip in the river, just like we used to,” Calum added excitedly.

“I wonder who you want to see naked,” Michael whispered and rolled his eyes, an action that went unnoticed by Luke and Calum but not Ashton’s scrutinising eyes.

“You must be crazy,” Luke said.

“Yeah, did you forget about the kids?” Ashton asked as he directed his attention to the brunette.

Luke dropped himself backward on the blanket and smiled as he looked at the sky. It was exactly like it used to be in the past; the only difference was the three kids. If Luke actually thought about it, there were more than one difference. Ashton was a married man and Michael was no longer his boyfriend and he was a mature man with responsibilities. Luke’s smile grew wider as he allowed those memories to fill him and he honestly could not think of a better place to be at that moment than being with his three best friends and his little princess. He had longed for that moment for years and it was finally happening; everything seemed perfect, almost perfect. There was only one thing he needed to sort out: why was Michael avoiding him? He shifted his eyes to Michael, who was talking and laughing with Ashton, and no one would say that there was something wrong about him but Luke knew there was, he could feel it inside. He closed his eyes and let the light breeze brush against his skin, jolting when something tickled his right ear.

He opened his eyes to look at his three mates, who were casually talking, and then at the three kids, who were playing, before deciding to shrug it off, assuming it was only a bug. He again closed his eyes and let out a deep breath as he folded his arms under his head. Just as he was allowing himself to doze off, he felt that thing in his ear again and he leant on an elbow, looking at Ashton, who was smiling at him and twirling a piece of grass between his thumb and index. Ashton playfully kicked him and said something about enough sleeping and having fun and Luke shifted to a sitting position. He joined the conversation and they started to talk about how things were when they were still in high school and all the crazy things they did together because no one else wanted to hang out with them, not that they needed anyone else. A conversation that led to how they grew up and Ashton saying how he got his two kids and when it turned to Luke, as much as he hated himself for doing it, he again had to lie. Luke eyed Michael as the blonde reached for Ashton’s basket and peeped inside before doing the same to his.

“Why do you have a pot of peanut in your basket?” Michael raised an eyebrow as he pulled it out.

 _‘Because I was thinking about you and it just got in the basket but not that you’d know of. Not like I can tell you either,’_ Luke said to himself before smiling to Michael. “I… I like peanut butter.”

Michael looked at him weirdly and before he had the time to say anything, Alex shouted, “Peanut butter…”

“See even Alex likes it,” Luke smiled.

“I like the pitnic,” Lily said as she joined them.

Alex dipped two fingers in the peanut butter jar and brought them to his lips. “Stupid, it’s not pitnic. It’s picnic.”

“Alex, don’t call her stupid,” Ashton warned. “Come on, go play with your sister.”

“Yes dad,” Alex sighed. “Lily, come on.”

“At least Lily said pitnic. You guys would never guess what Alex said. He said pissnic, instead of picnic,” Ashton said and the other three burst out laughing. “It’s not funny. Bryana thought I told him that and then she was mad at me because I was supposedly teaching him bad words. Me out of all people? I’m the one who’s all for no swearing in front of kids. That’s unbelievable.”

“Oh Ashton, your son is a work of art,” Calum said, still laughing.

“Pissnic, though,” Michael laughed loudly. “That’s epic.”

“Just like his dad,” Luke said, laughing too.

“Stop laughing at me. How about we go further down the river, then we’ll have lunch?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“Who will carry the baskets?” Ashton asked.

“You two brought them. You two carry them,” Calum shrugged.

“But I have to carry Alana.”

“Don’t worry I’ve got her. Come on pumpkin,” Calum said and picked her up, already walking away with Luke, who picked his basket.

“Mimi, look at the butterflies,” Lily grinned and took Michael’s hand in hers.

“They’re pretty, right?” he smiled back.

“Go away,” Alex shouted and pushed Lily before hugging Michael’s thighs. “He’s my Mimi.”

“Alex, enough,” Ashton said angrily and looked at Lily, who was on the ground crying. “Get back here, now.”

“Are you alright, Princess?” Michael bent down and took Lily in his arms. “You’ve got a booboo. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it when we get to our spot.”

“Is she ok?” Ashton asked as he caught up with Michael.

“She scraped her elbow,” Michael said and Lily hugged him tighter.

“I’ve band aid in my basket. Where are Calum and Luke?”

“They’re ahead of us already.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Michael snorted. “Why do you ask me if you’re gonna ask me anyway?”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re having a picnic or pissnic, like your son said.”

“Haha… very funny.”

Alex, who had been sulking and walking with his arms crossed over his chest, said. “Daaaad, carry me.”

“I can’t. I’m carrying the basket.”

“I can’t walk too.”

Sighing, Ashton picked the boy, who had sat down. “Like I was saying, what’s up between you and Luke and Calum?”

“Me and Luke, nothing but Luke and Calum, I don’t know. I think they’re like… together.”

“Calum and Luke? Is that why you’ve been glaring at them?”

“I haven’t been glaring at them.”

“Yes, you have. I saw.”

“And why have you been spying on me?”

“Anyways, why would you think they’re together?”

“I saw them… umm… kissing…”

“Nonsense, Calum wouldn’t do that. It was just your imagination, I’m sure.”

“I know what I saw. And I don’t think this is the right place to talk about it,” Michael stated.

“Maybe that’s the reason why Calum has never really been able to be with anyone. Because he’s in love with Luke.”

“You just said it was my imagination,” Michael groaned; he did not need Ashton to prove he was right.

“I don’t know. I’m just joining the dots.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Michael said when they reached the other two.

“Honey, what happened to your hand?” Luke rushed to Lily when he saw the bruise on her elbow.

“Umm… she just fell,” Michael simply said.

“No, she did not. Alex pushed her. Don’t teach them bad manners,” Ashton warned. “And you, little guy, you’re gonna hear from me when we get home.”

“It’s okay, Ashton. He’s just a little boy. Come here Alex,” Luke said as he patted the blanket beside him.

“Mimi, can I go home with you?” Lily asked as Michael stuck the band aid on her wound.

“Sure but don’t you have to go to school tomorrow?”

“You take me to school tomorrow.”

“You’ll have to ask your dad first.”

“Daddy, can I stay with Mimi tonight?”

“No, it’s school night. You can go some other day.”

“Please daddy.”

“How about you drop her stuffs at my house and I’ll take her to school. You can pick her from there,” Michael proposed.

“I…”

“I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry.”

“Ok,” Luke said, though he was still not quite sure it was a good idea.

“Great. How about we get some lunch, I’m starving?”

**.*.*.*.*.*.**

Luke turned on the TV and flipped through the channels before turning it off again. When they came back at around four, he went to drop Lily and her things at Michael’s house and he had been feeling quite uneasy since then. Although Ashton had told him that Michael always took good care of his children, he could not help that weird feeling growing in him. He did not doubt Michael would not take good care of Lily, it was just that he had never stayed away from her, except for when she was at school but that was different. Ever since he got Lily, it was always him and her but with her not being there, it made him feel like something was missing. That was how he had found himself in his car, driving to Michael’s house. Exiting the car, he walked to the front door and hesitated for a moment, wondering what he would tell Michael because he did not want Michael to think that he did not trust him. Finally, taking a deep breath and looking at the time that showed 08:47, he rang the bell.

“Luke? Come in.”

“Huh… Lily, where is she?”

“I just put her to sleep. I told you I’ll take care of her.”

“I know you will. It’s just… I miss her. She’s never been away before, you see.”

“Do you want me to get her?”

“Wait!” Luke grabbed Michael’s arm and halted him. “Is there something wrong? Did I do something?”

“What are you talking about? Of course not.”

“You’ve been acting distant since that party at my house.”

“It’s not you. It’s just that I’ve been busy with work and stuffs.”

“I thought you were ignoring me,” Luke chuckled.

“I’m sorry if you felt like that. I’ll make sure to hang out with you more often.”

“Thank you. Thank you for being a friend, a really good friend.”

“Anytime. I’ll get Lily.”

“Yeah,” Luke nodded and watched as Michael disappeared up the stairs, to return shortly with the little girl in his arms. “I’ll take her.”

“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you around then.”

“Definitely.”

Michael closed the door and sighed as he leant against it. A friend; that was all he was and probably will always be.

 


	9. Wish I Could Rewind

Calum cursed as he quickly marched in the direction of the door; Ashton had told him to meet him at the café for lunch and he was already ten minutes late. He was sure to be lectured because Ashton did not like to be kept waiting and he also had to get back to the school, more reasons for him to be on time but he was really busy and had not noticed the time until he had checked his phone for messages.

“Hey,” he said as he took a seat across from the other.

“Are you in love with Luke?”

Calum blinked at him, “What?”

“Are you in love with Luke?” Ashton repeated.

The second time that question left Ashton’s mouth, Calum burst out laughing. “Are you fucking serious?” he asked when Ashton did not laugh along. “You’re just gonna ask me if I’m in love with Luke and not reprimand me for being late?”

“We’ll get to that part. So are you?”

“Why would you say that? Why would I be in love with Luke?”

“Because you’ve been spending an awful lot amount of time with him lately.”

“So? I spend lots of time with you too and that doesn’t mean I’m in love with you. Luke is my best friend and I have lots of catching up to do.”

“You’re sure you’re not in love with him?”

“Yes, is that why you called me here? Because you think I’m in love with Luke? I’m not interested in Luke and I only love him like a best friend.”

“Hmm…” Ashton nodded. “So you’re saying that I just made a fool out of myself here?”

“Technically, yes.”

“Michael, you’re gonna hear from me,” the older boy said under his breath but Calum did not fail to hear it.

“Michael? Michael put you up to this? Wow…”

“Well, he had some solid points,” Ashton said as he remembered everything Michael had told him.

“I’m pretty sure those ‘solid points’ are just his dumb assumptions.”

“I just need to know one thing though. If you’re not in love with Luke, why did you kiss him?”

Calum started laughing out loud at that statement, causing a few people around them to look at him. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Let me guess, Michael told you that?”

“He told me he saw you two kissing in Luke’s kitchen. And then he also said that you spend most of your time at Luke’s house and I could not help but notice how close you two were at the picnic.”

“I don’t know what Michael saw but I never kissed Luke. Now I get why he’s been ignoring me. He thinks I’m trying to steal Luke from him. This is absurd.”

“If you say so.”

“You and I both know that Michael is in love with Luke and honestly, Luke is only my best friend, just like you are and Michael is.”

“You’re right, I guess. Besides, you know how Michael is, always has his guards up. Shit, is this the time? Gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Ok, I guess I’ll have lunch alone then,” Calum said to no one in particular.

***.*.*.*.*.***

It had been two days since they went on that picnic and despite seeing Luke, Michael was not feeling better; instead, he felt worse than before. When Luke had gone, he had left him heartbroken but then when he had returned, all he could see was hope, hope for a second chance, hope to be with Luke and hope to do things differently. However, after the recent turns of event, he felt like his dream had been shattered and he was back to where he was six years ago. He wished he had not bumped into Luke a few months ago because, at least that way, he would not have expected his future to look different nor would he have aroused those feelings that he had safely kept in a corner of his heart. To say the least, he felt that way because of two people and those two people were the closest to his heart, along with Ashton and that thought only broke him into millions of pieces. He needed to know what was going on, he needed answers because he knew he could not live another day of his life ignoring his two best friends, despite knowing that they might have a thing going on.

“You know I could have waited longer but I just did not know how long you were going to stand in front of my door and not knock,” Calum said as he opened the door. “Don’t just stand there. Get your ass inside.”

“You knew I was here?”

“Yeah, I saw your car coming more than ten minutes ago. I peeped out the window, saw you deep in your thoughts, so I waited until I couldn’t anymore.”

Michael removed his jacket and set it on the couch beside him. “So, what’s up?” he asked while lightly tapping his fingers against his thigh.

“Nothing much other than the usual routine,” the brunette smiled. “I was going to come by at yours later.”

“Yeah, been a while since we hung out.”

“Are you gonna ask me or not?”

“Ask you what?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“What you came here for?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I came here to see you. Yeah, that’s it.”

“Ok… aren’t you gonna ask me if I’m in love with Luke? Isn’t that why you’re here?”

“Are you? In love with Luke?”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that when you knew I’m in love with him? How long have things been going on between you two? Why the hell would you hide it from me?”

“You know it just happened. When he came back, he had changed into that completely different, hot and sexy human being. I couldn’t help it.” Calum walked to the window, facing away from Michael, and snickered.

“What? But why? I mean, what about me?”

“What about you? Michael, there are thousands of guys in the world, you should find yourself someone else and move on. As for Luke, he feels the same way that I do. I think we’re made for each other.”

Michael bit his lower lip and balled his hands into fists as he closed his eyes and let that sentence sink in. “It was a mistake to come here,” he finally said and grabbed his jacket.

“Wait, wait, wait… I’m just fucking with you,” Calum laughed. “But you should’ve seen your face. Me and Luke? Seriously? That’s the craziest thing somebody could ever come up with. I mean, why Michael?”

“I don’t know. You guys kissed at his barbecue party and you’re always at his house…”

“Have you been stalking us? Gosh, you’re taking this way too seriously. Just relax, Luke is my best friend, nothing more. Ok?”

“Ok,” Michael nodded. “But you kissed him, in the kitchen, I saw.”

“No, I did not kiss him. We were only talking.”

“What did you guys talk about?”

“Just stuffs, random stuffs.”

“Did he talk about me?”

“Huh…” Calum thought back to the conversations he had had with Luke and then the promise he had made; if Michael were to know the truth, it would be from Luke, not him. “Yeah, and also about Ashton and the things we’ve been up to. Just casual talks.”

“Oh…”

“And his daughter is such a sweetheart,” Calum said, trying to test Michael’s reaction at the mention of Lily. “Just like her dad.”

“Yeah, I really like her and we get along really well,” Michael smiled.

“Michael, you’re such a sweetfart and it’s not possible for kids not to like you.”

“Sweetfart, huh? I’m starting to wonder if it’s not you teaching Alex the bad words,” Michael laughed when he saw the expression on Calum’s face. “What? Don’t look at me like that. You always use the weird words.”

“Me? Come on, even I could not come up with a word like ‘pissnic’. Don’t blame me.”

Michael let out a laugh and Calum joined in. He was glad he had taken that trip to Calum’s house because after weeks, he was feeling better, relieved even. He had seen something, misunderstood it and had been blaming and ignoring his best friends because of that; that was the most stupid thing he had done in years. If he had felt Luke and Calum were wrong all along, at that particular moment, he was blaming no one else but himself. How could he have thought like that? They were his best friends and if ever there were something going on between, they would have talked to him about it and not hidden it from him. He felt horrible and the worst friend ever; he should have known that Luke and Calum would never have betrayed him like that. For so many days he had been feeling like a wreck and had been cursing them for his misery when it had been all him, who had thought he had seen something while they had done nothing wrong. He had let his judgement be veiled by jealousy and blamed them unnecessarily, not to mention that he had dragged Ashton into it.

Finally, after all those dark nights, he could see the light again. All the clouds were clearing out and suddenly, his life was starting to look bright again. His dreams were not lost, his hopes not shattered and those meant that he could have a shot at things again. Luke, his Luke; there were hopes that he could be his again. His love was not lost and it had its chances again, he just needed time. If it was really his fate that had brought Luke back, he trusted his fate to get them together. Then, it would be just him and Luke, like it used to be, perhaps.

“Hey buddy, I hope you have a good reason for grinning like that,” Calum asked as he shook Michael’s shoulder.

“What? Oh no, I was just thinking how stupid I was. I blamed you for no reason and I’m sorry for that. I’m really glad I came.”

“Apologies accepted,” the brunette smiled. “But I’m pretty sure that was not the reason you were grinning like an idiot.”

“Cool, let’s go bowling,” Michael said as he tried to change the conversation. “Like the good old days.”

“I haven’t gone bowling in forever.”

“Who cares? We’re just gonna have fun.”

***.*.*.*.*.***

“Mimi, can we get ice-cream on the way home?” Alex asked as he walked beside Michael.

“Sorry buddy, if we stop to get ice-cream, the rain will surely catch up on us. Plus, Ashton said no cold anything for you.”

“But…”

“No buts, ok? Hey Lily,” Michael smiled when he noticed the little girl sitting on a bench outside. “How come you’re still here?” he asked when he remembered that Luke was never late to pick her up.

“Daddy did not come yet.”

“That’s odd. Hold on, I’ll give him a call and see.”

“Mimi, let’s go. You said the rain is coming,” Alex said as he tugged on Michael’s hand.

“Hang on Soldier. It’ll just be two minutes. Hey Luke.”

“Michael, hi. Can I call you in a few minutes?”

“No, I mean, Lily is still at school. Where are you?”

“Stuck with my car broken down. Can you just tell her that I’ll be there soon, please?”

“huh…” Michael looked at the sky and the dark clouds. “It looks like it’s going to rain. How about I take her with me, you can pick her up from my house? I don’t feel like leaving her alone here. Of course, if that’s ok with you.”

“Oh Michael, you’re such a relief. Thank you.”

“Anytime Luke. So, I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there soon.”

“Come on, kids, let’s go.”

Once at home, Michael had gotten them cookies and hot chocolate to keep them warm because as he had thought, it was pouring already and it did not seem like the weather was going to get better soon. He was glad he had not left Lily at school because otherwise, she would have been there all alone in that rain while waiting for Luke. Feeding them, which was the easiest part, was done and the hardest part, which was to get them to sit in one place and do something, well, Michael was having some difficulty with that since all they were interested in doing were to chase each other around his house. Not wanting to leave them unattended, he had to run after them as well. He let out a sigh of relief when he heard the doorbell; finally, Luke came to the rescue.

“My saviour, come inside and help me out,” Michael said when he opened the door.

“Why? What’s going on in there? You look like…”

“Like I could use some help.” Michael turned around, only to realise that Luke’s clothes were damp. “Wow, let’s get you dry first.”

“I’m alright. I just came to get Lily.”

“And you think I’m gonna let leave like that, with your clothes all soaked and in that weather? No, come inside, I’ll get you some dry clothes and when it stops raining, you can go.”

“It’s gonna rain all night. It said so on the radio.”

“Then you can stay the night. I don’t mind and Lily wanted to stay the other night. You’ll have nothing to worry about because you’ll also be here.”

“I don’t know… she has to go to school tomorrow. I guess another time.”

“Luke, it’s Friday. Come on stay. Pretty please? Even Alex will have some company then. Yeah, Alex is here. Ashton went out with Bryana for the weekend and I’m babysitting.”

“What about Alana?”

“She’s with Calum. So, are you staying?”

“Alright.”

“Yay… Lily, look who’s here.”

**Later that evening…**

Luke looked out the window, at the heavy rain hitting against the glass and the lightning down in a distance and followed by thunder, and hugged himself. He was glad he stayed over at Michael’s because Lily was scared of thunder and Michael had managed to put her to sleep after reading her a story. Although he had stayed at Michael’s house countless times in the past, that time, it was nothing like that. They may have laughed and talked and joked around but there was still something that was different. The love, the chemistry and the togetherness were not there anymore, they were just two friends, trying to reconnect with each other. He jolted when another thunder was heard and he laughed as he remembered how he used to be scared of thunder. It was nights like this one and Michael would come all the way to his house, sneak into his room and hug him all night, just to make him feel better. Even though, lightning and thunder used to scare him, he used to love them because they were contributing factors for him and Michael to spend more time together, not that they did not already.

They would lie in Luke’s bed, in each other’s arms and watch the dark room light up before Luke would jolt as the thunder roared. Michael would whisper sweet things into his ear, in an attempt to calm him down, and kiss his forehead because he knew it always made Luke feel better. Of course, with time and being away from Michael, he had to learn to fight that fear since there was no one to hold him and tell him it would be fine. That did not mean that thunder and lightning did not bring back those memories; it was the memories that had helped him calm down when he was alone. The funny things about the situation was that whenever there was bad weather, Michael would be at his house but the situation had turned around and he was the one at Michael’s house.

“Hey, hot chocolate?” Michael asked as he pressed the warm mug to Luke’s arm.

Luke turned around and looked at the older boy, who was holding out the mug to him, before moving away when he realised how close Michael was standing. “Thank you.”

“Why are you always so formal? I’m still the same Michael you grew up with.”

“I know, it’s just…”

“Then stop it. Shred those boundaries because you make me feel like a stranger.”

That was what Luke could not do, let go of all the boundaries because he was scared things would get out of hands if he did. “I’ll try.”

“That’s more like you. You remember how you used to be scared of thunder?”

Luke laughed; Michael still remembered. “Yeah… silly of me.”

“My favourite weather actually.”

Luke bit the side of his lower lip as he could not help but wonder why it was Michael’s favourite weather nor could he help but wonder if it was because of him. He knew it was silly of him since six years were enough for a change and for Michael to move on. He had hung on to his feelings but he did not know if Michael did too and he did not want to ask. Why? Because he was scared of the answer. “Yeah mine too.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I realised it’s not so bad.”

“You keep surprising me, Luke Hemmings,” Michael laughed. “What else don’t I know about you?”

“Well,” Luke smiled. “I’m still the same Luke you grew up with.”

“No, that Luke was shit scared of lightning and thunder and you’re not.”

“I guess he was because he knew you would show up every time, to make feel him better and hug him tight all night long and whisper sweet things to him and stuffs.”

“You still remember?”

“I could never forget.”

Luke looked up, right about the same time as Michael did, and their eyes met. Like magnets, they were being drawn to each other and the distance between them disappeared with each passing second. They did not know who made the first move but they were kissing and that particular action had brought back all the memories that had been repressed. If any of them had thought it would feel weird, it did not; it felt perfect, like it was meant to happen. As good as Michael was feeling against his lips, the moment Luke realised what was happening should never had happened, he pulled away.

“I… huh… I’m going to see Lily,” Luke stuttered and ran up the stairs.

“Fuck!” Michael mumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair; he hoped he had not messed things up.

 


	10. Take This Heart, Put Yourself In It

Michael looked at the rain hitting against the window and shook his head; for how long would things keep going that way? He knew he loved Luke but did Luke love him back? Luke had certainly kissed him before pulling away, what did that mean? Did Luke feel something for him too or was he only caught up in the moment? Why was it that when he was with Luke, Luke would always build such high walls around himself? What was it Luke was so afraid of? Was it the past and the relationship that they had shared or something else? Michael had to find out because Luke had that look on his face when talking about the past; the look that hinted he still remembered everything that had happened between them. Why were things so complicated? All those questions and no answer. So many months had passed since Luke came back but Michael still felt like there was something that was holding the other boy back. Every time he wanted to talk to Luke, his word would get lost and he would just keep pushing asking Luke those question, whose answers he desperately wanted to know but dreaded.

So many things he wanted to talk to Luke about but he was always scared they would drive Luke away but that was no longer going to happen. If Luke wanted to run away again, then Michael was going to reason him because he was not a teenager anymore but a mature and responsible adult, who knew how to handle things. That was it, the moment of truth had arrived. Again running his fingers through his hair, Michael turned on his heels and directed his gaze to Luke, who was halfway up the staircase. Michael took a deep breath and strode towards him, grabbing his wrist and halting him. The moment Michael’s hand enclosed around his, Luke turned around and frowned.

“Wait,” Michael said quietly.

“What?”

“You can’t just keep walking away all the time and leave behind so many unanswered questions.”

“I told you I’m… going to check on Lily,” Luke stuttered; seeing that look on Michael’s face made him apprehensive of what would come next. He knew Michael well enough and whenever he had that determined look on his face, he would make sure to do what he had intended.

“No,” Michael sighed. “You’re just running away again. Why do you keep running away?”

“I don’t…” the younger boy laughed nervously.

“That’s what you did six years ago and that’s what you’re doing again but this time, I’m not going to let that happen. You have to answer my questions today.”

Luke gulped. “Michael, let go of me,” he said as he tried to pull his hand away.

Looking into Luke’s eyes, Michael loosened his grip and let Luke’s hand fall from his. “Why did you leave? Why did you do that to me? We were so happy together, then why? If I had unintentionally done something that had hurt you, you should have told me. You didn’t need to leave me like that.”

“Michael… it’s not you… I had to leave because… of something else…”

“And you can’t tell me about it, right?”

“It’s complicated…”

“Why? Because there was somebody else?”

“No… please, ask me anything but don’t ask me about that. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Michael rubbed his forehead with his fingers and sighed; it pained him when Luke could not be completely honest with him but if Luke did not want to talk about it, he was not going to force him. “You know, when you came back after so many years, I was so happy to see you. I thought things were finally going to be alright between us but every time I try to get a little close to you, you have your guards up or something. Are things never going be ok between us?”

Luke stayed quiet and stared at Michael, not knowing what to say; he wanted things to be fine as well but then remembered why he had left and why he was scared to get close to Michael. Those secrets that he held so deep within him, he was scared they would destroy everything.

“I guess not then… I know you have Lily and I guess she’s the reason why you don’t want things to be like they were before.”

Luke closed his eyes at the mention of Lily; he knew Michael would always have a problem with her, thinking she was someone else’s child. “Lily is not between us, if that’s what you’re saying.”

“No, you’re getting me wrong. I love her, I really do. As surprising as it sounds, I actually love having her around. If you think because you have a daughter I’m going to love you less, it’s not true. I have loved you many years ago and I still do. In fact, I haven’t stopped loving you and no matter how many times people told me to move on, I could not. I gave you my heart once and haven’t given it to anyone else. When you left, I’ve never been with anyone else because you were always on my mind and in my heart. I waited for you every day and I knew someday you’d come back. And now that you are, I’d like to give us another shot because our love did not deserve to end like this. I mean, that is if you want, of course. I love you Luke, even if you don’t love me back, I always will.”

Luke only stood there; he did not know if he wanted to feel happy and cry out of happiness or feel guilty and cry. He only did what he thought was right at that moment and pressed his lips to Michael’s, taking him by surprise. He wrapped his arms around the other’s neck and brought them closer as their lips moved ever so gently against one another. In turn, Michael enclosed his arms around Luke’s waist and, tilting his head to the side, he kissed him back as Luke pushed him backward and his back was pressed against the wall. Even after so many years, Luke’s lips still tasted the same as Michael remembered, although there was a slight hint of chocolate mixed with it. He trailed his hand lower to his ass and then to the back of Luke’s thigh before lifting his leg up and bringing their hips closer together.

“Daddy…”

Luke instantly pulled away, looked at the top of the stairs, where he had heard Lily’s coming from, looked at Michael and then back up. He was conflicted for a second; he did not want to leave Michael but he also did not want to leave Lily alone.

“It’s ok… go,” Michael whispered.

The moment that left Michael’s lips, Luke smiled and nodded. He pressed a quick kiss to Michael’s cheek before rushing up the stairs. “What is it, Honey?” he asked when he found her in the corridor.

“There was a big red dog running after me and… and I fell…”

“It’s just a bad dream. Let’s get you back to bed,” Luke smiled as he picked her up and walked back to the bedroom. He set her back on the bed and lay beside her. “Get some sleep now.”

“What if he comes back?”

“He won’t but if he does, I’ll chase him away,” he said and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

“Tell me a story.”

“It’s late. I’ll tell you one another time.”

“Hey,” Michael grinned as he poked his head through the door. “I’ve got you something, Princess.”

“Really?”

“This is Mister Penguin. It used to belong to your dad but you can have it. I trust you’ll keep it safe,” Michael handed her a stuffed animal and could not help but smile when she hugged it tightly to her chest.

“I love you Mister Pingin,” Lily exclaimed, causing them to laugh.

“I can’t believe you still have this,” Luke shook his head.

“It was your favourite and I could not let go of it. You remember how you never went anywhere without it?”

“Yeah, I remember. I also remember that you’re the one who gave it to me and that’s why I loved it so much.”

Smiling, Michael turned his attention back to Lily, who had her eyes half-closed. “Goodnight, Princess.”

Michael walked back to his room and sat on the bed. As he thought about what had happened on the stairs a few minutes earlier, he could not get rid of that silly grin on his face. He had kissed Luke. Well technically, Luke had kissed him first and that had to be the one of the best things that had happened to him in years. Even though Luke had not answered any of his questions, he could see that things were suddenly starting to look brighter. He did not know what was holding Luke back but one thing he was sure about when Luke had kissed him was that he could feel that Luke still loved him. What more could he ask for? Nothing, there was nothing else he needed or wanted. He could live his life, just knowing that Luke loved him back. He was still thinking about what happened before when he felt a pair of warm and moist lips against his. He smiled as he kissed Luke back and pulled him in his lap. Luke allowed himself be pulled down and he set his legs on either sides of Michael’s thighs before burying his fingers into Michael’s hair.

Slowly he moved his mouth lower, leaving a series of open-mouthed kisses to the side of Michael’s neck; he had not realised how much he wanted to feel Michael against him, until he had kissed him earlier. He had missed the closeness, the touches, the kisses, the sex and most importantly the love Michael had always given him. Instinctively, he slid his hand to the bottom of Michael’s shirt and, taking it between his fingers, he pulled it up his chest and over his head. He wasted no time to place his hand onto Michael’s chest, letting his palm reconnect with the skin that it already knew by heart; the heat was flowing from Michael’s skin and to his palm and a shiver automatically ran down his spine. Longing for more, he pulled his own shirt off before again kissing Michael. He pressed their chests together and let out a gasp when Michael’s hand moved up and down his back, his fingers lightly grazing his skin. Luke tilted his head backward when Michael let his mouth trail down to Luke’s chin, then to the middle of his neck, to kiss his Adam’s apple before slightly thrusting his hips upwards.

Michael pulled away and looked into Luke’s eyes, his beautiful blue eyes before pushing him back onto his feet. Then, he hooked his fingers under the elastic of the sweatpants that he had lent Luke and slowly pulled them down his legs. Immediately, Luke stepped out of them and laced his fingers through Michael’s hair as he placed little kisses on his hip. Michael frowned and pulled away.

“What’s that?” he pointed to the scar on Luke’s lower stomach.

Luke took a step backward. “Nothing. It’s just a wound… a little accident.”

“This doesn’t look like anything little to me. What happened?”

“Really… it’s… it’s nothing. Can we not talk about this right now?”

Michael was going to raise an eyebrow when Luke said that but he did not; he chose to ignore it, for the time being. “But you’ll tell me about it later, will you?”

“Yes,” Luke sighed; maybe he would, maybe he would not.

Nodding, Michael placed his hands on Luke’s hips and brought him closer. He then took Luke’s erection into his hand and moved it along the length before guiding it to his mouth. He locked eyes with Luke as he placed a kiss to the head and took it into his mouth. Luke instantly cursed; it was the first time he was receiving a blow job in years and he had almost forgotten what it felt like. His knees trembled when Michael licked the underside all the way to his balls and then back to the head before taking it into his mouth again. Gradually, he took more and more of the length, until his lips were kissing Luke’s hips and he pulled back a little, only to suck him back in. At the same time, he pressed his fingers flat against Luke’s testicles and moved them in a circular motion. Luke curled his toes into the carpet and thrust into Michael’s mouth; his blood was rushing through his veins, his heart was racing, his breathing was uneven and he could feel the heat pooling in his stomach. He squeezed his eyes shut and tightened his grip into Michael’s hair as he kept thrusting into his mouth.

Michael pulled away when he felt something warm fill his mouth and he pulled Luke back into his lap. With his eyes still closed, Luke dropped his head onto the other’s shoulder and breathed heavily through his mouth as he let out a little laugh.

“So, are you ready to talk about this?” Michael asked when Luke had caught his breath.

“Umm… not right now. Come to my house someday and we’ll talk about it. Enough about that now, I’ve something to take care of.”

Luke smiled and, dropping to his knees in front of Michael, he placed his palm flat against Michael’s clothed erection. He moved his hands along the bulge and then, he slowly pushed Michael’s shorts down his legs. Biting his lips, he pumped Michael’s penis a few times before leaning forward and enclosing his lips around the head. Michael cursed; he wanted to drop himself backward on the mattress but he also wanted to watch Luke. Choosing the second option, he placed his hand at the back of Luke’s head and soothingly massaged his scalp. Lightly, Luke sucked on the head of Michael’s dick, pulled back to roll his tongue around it in a teasing motion and then moved to his balls.

“Wait! Was that the doorbell?” Michael muttered.

“No, it’s just your imagination,” Luke whispered back as he alternatively kissed Michael’s balls.

“Shit, it is the doorbell,” Michael said when the sound was heard again.

“Fuck!” Luke quickly got to his feet and looked around the room. He glanced at Michael’s erection when the bell rang again. “Ok, you get the door and I’ll take care of this,” he said and cursed when Michael laughed at him. “I mean, I’ll get the door and you take care of this. Shit clothes.”

Luke grabbed his scattered clothes and tried to pull his boxers and pants on at the same time but he failed and almost landed on his ass if it were not for Michael, who caught him in time. “Careful.”

Taking a deep breath, Luke ran his hand through his hair and walked downstairs. As he opened the door, he caught sight of the brunette, who was continuously ringing the bell. “Calum?”

“I thought this thing was broken,” he smiled sheepishly.

“What are you doing here?”

“This weather sucks, there is no power at my house and I didn’t want to be alone. But the real question is: what are you doing here?” Calum asked as he closed the door and followed Luke inside.

“Huh… long story?” he asked, rather than said but the look on Calum’s face clearly stated that he was all ears. “Ok, so my car broke down and Michael picked Lily from school and I came to pick her up and the weather was bad and he asked me to stay.”

Calum hummed. “Where is he anyway?”

“Huh… I don’t know. I think he’s in the bathroom.”

Calum raised an eyebrow when he recognised the clothes on Luke to be Michael’s and he also noticed that Luke was wearing his pants backward but he decided not to say anything. “Where’s Lily?”

“She’s sleeping upstairs,” Luke replied as he ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

“I still can’t believe you’re here. Wouldn’t you rather be at home, where it’s warm and cosy?”

“Why? Isn’t Michael’s house warm and cosy?”

“Yeah, yeah, especially his arms,” Calum smirked.

“Oh shut up.”

“Boy, I need some coffee,” Calum said as he made his way to the kitchen. “Want some?”

“I don’t drink coffee,” Luke stated and he followed the brunette before taking a seat at the island.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me? What will you have?”

“Nothing, I’m warm enough,” Luke smiled and pushed his hair off his forehead.

Calum turned his head to Luke, who was looking at his hands and smiling, and smiled himself; he could tell what had happened before he had showed up. He opened a cabinet but closed it and walked back into the living room, causing Luke to frown.

“I thought you were making coffee.”

“Yeah, but this is better,” he wriggled his eyebrows as he motioned to the bottle of whiskey.

“Oh yeah, I’ll have this. Pour me a glass, I’ll go call Michael.”

“Yes ma’am,” Calum called to Luke, who was already walking away and pulled out his phone to send a text to Ashton. _‘Party at Michael’s. Get your ass over here.’_

His text was quickly replied to: _‘Shut up and go to sleep’_

Calum frowned but bit his lip as he sent another one. _‘Luke and Michael got back together.’_ And then a third one. _‘Luke’s in Michael’s pants.’_

_‘No fuckin way’_

_‘Come over if you want all the juicy details’_

Michael panted and, closing his eyes, he slowed the movement of his hand. He had barely had the time to catch his breath when the door opened and he quickly pulled his hand away to adjust his clothes.

Luke laughed before closing the door behind him. “It’s just me.”

“I thought it was Calum,” Michael let out a deep breath.

“I wouldn’t have let him come up here,” Luke stated and handed Michael the box of tissue, which he had taken from the table. “But he’s waiting. Hurry up.”

“Yeah, give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”

Luke nodded and as he turned to leave, Michael called him back. “Yeah?”

Smiling, Michael shook his head. “Nothing.”

“He’s coming,” Luke announced and grabbed a glass from the coffee table.

“Ashton’s coming too.”

“He is? What for?”

“Well, I guessed if we’re having a party, he should be here too. Michael, where are you?” Calum shouted.

“Shush, Lily is sleeping,” Michael hit him at the back of his head and raised an eyebrow as he looked at the table. “What are we celebrating?”

“The shitty weather,” Calum laughed.

“Who’s here at this time?” Michael asked when the doorbell rang.

“That must be Ashton,” Calum answered as he went to get the door.

“Ashton is coming?”

“Yeah, Calum called him. Fix your hair,” Luke whispered and turned his attention to Ashton, who walked into the room. “Hi.”

“Just hi? No hug? It’s fucking raining outside and I’m cold.”

“Aww,” Luke grinned and pulled him into a tight hug, laughing when Calum wrapped his arms around both of them and then Michael did the same.

“I’m so happy for you two,” Ashton said when they pulled away but Calum signalled him not to say anything else.

“You two? Who two?” Michael frowned.

“Huh… the whiskey and the chips that are all going in my stomach,” he pointed to the table.

“You’re weird.”

Calum dropped himself next to Ashton on the couch and whispered to him, “Can’t you ever keep anything to yourself?”

“How do you know they’re together?”

“Well, look at them. It’s obvious.”

“Fuck you. I actually believed you and drove here when you aren’t even sure about it.”

“I mean, look at Luke’s pants. They’re backward.”

“So, haven’t you ever worn your pants backward by accident?”

“I had to ring the bell like ten times and when Luke opened the door, he was flushed. And Michael, he came downstairs like two minutes before you came.”

“Wait!” Ashton grinned. “Luke? Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you wearing your pants backward?”

Three pairs of eyes turned to look at him and Luke’s cheeks turned pink from embarrassment. As for Calum, he mentally face-palmed himself; he could not believe Ashton had said that out loud. That guy could seriously never keep anything to himself. To stop him from grinning like an idiot, he reached out and pinched his butt.

“What is your problem?” Ashton rubbed his butt and glared at Calum.

“At the moment? You.”

Ashton poked his tongue at him and turned his attention back to Luke. “Wait, are those Michael’s? Why are you in Michael’s pants?” Although Calum wanted to kick Ashton, he ended up laughing.

“Huh…”

Michael looked at Luke, who looked like he was at a loss for words, and decided to speak himself. “Yeah, they’re mine. Luke came here and he was drenched. I offered him some clothes.”

“I see,” Ashton hummed. “Is there anything else you want to tell me and Calum?”

Michael looked at Luke, then back at Ashton. “Nope.”

“I see…”

“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be home with your kids and wife?” Michael asked and finished his drink.

“I was but Calum texted me and told me that Michael is roasting marshmallows in the fireplace naked and I should totally come and see that. So, here I am.”

“I see,” Michael imitated Ashton. “You’re full of shit.”

“And you’re full of something else, apparently.”

**Three hours later…**

Two bottles of whiskey and a few packets of chips later, they had all gone upstairs to sleep; Michael was in his room, Luke was with Lily and Calum and Ashton were sharing a room. Luke again tossed on the bed and when he was certain the coast was clear, he tip-toed to Michael’s room. Quietly closing the door, he slipped under the blanket and hugged him from behind before closing his eyes.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [Bellanna14](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bellanna14/pseuds/Bellanna14) for telling me to write about the scar part.


	11. Can't Change The World

Calum took another deep breath as he looked at the blonde, who was sitting on his right on another sofa. It was the first time he had seen Luke act like that; he had seen Luke be funny, embarrassed, awkward but never quiet and Luke was being way too quiet. He was simply sitting on that couch, with his legs crossed under him and a book on his thigh, while his fingers were flipping through the pages. However, Calum knew he was not really reading since his eyes were glued to the carpet and he was not even blinking. Calum did not know why but there was that little voice in his head that kept repeating ‘it was Michael’ but he chose to ignore that because Michael would never do anything to hurt Luke in anyway, especially since he knew how much Michael loved him. The brunette sighed louder in an attempt to get Luke’s attention but Luke did not move or acknowledge him. Whatever the problem was, he concluded it was not small otherwise Luke would have told him about it already. Calum got up and sat next to Luke before tapping his shoulder with his index. Again, he got no response and, smiling, he pinched Luke’s nostrils.

Luke quickly pushed his hand away when he could not breathe and turned to look at him. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Finally, you talked.”

“Of course I talk. I’m not a doll.”

Calum hummed. “Now that that’s been established, you want to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I’ve been sitting here for what seems like an eternity and all you’re interested in doing is stare at the carpet. It’s a nice carpet but I’m sure it’s not that interesting. I know something is bugging you. You can tell me about it.”

“It’s nothing, seriously.”

“So you’re just gonna sit there and lie in my face? I’m your best friend and I know you better than this. I know something is wrong and I also know it’s related to Michael. So, I’m just gonna sit here and wait. When you’re ready to talk, we’ll talk.” Calum linked his fingers, rested his head on them as he leant back and set his feet on the coffee table. “Take your time, I’m not in a rush,” he added and closed his eyes.

“Why aren’t you at work again?”

“Because I’m allowed to take days off.”

“Then go and have fun. Why are you on my ass?”

“Technically, I’m not on your ass and the only person who wants your ass is Michael.” Although his eyes were half closed, Calum did not fail to notice Luke flinch at the mention of Michael’s name. “And why aren’t you at work?”

“I have an afternoon shift.”

“And Lily? Is she going to stay with her dad while you’re at work?” Luke glared at him. “What? No one’s here. I’m allowed to say it.”

“No, my mom’s coming over to look after her.”

“Ok… are you ready to talk now?”

“Michael wants to know,” Luke simply said.

“And what exactly does he wants to know? I’m not a genius, I can’t guess.”

“He saw the scar and he wants to know how I got it.”

“And? Are you going to tell him?”

“I don’t know… How is he going to react to it? And how the hell am I gonna tell him that? It’d have been easy if I was a girl because girls get pregnant all the time but I’m a boy.”

“A boy?” Calum laughed. “Not quite anymore. I mean look at you. You’re a man now, a dad, old man…”

“Hey, I’m only twenty-five and I’m still younger than you.”

“Yeah, the thing is: I know I’m a man but you still think of yourself as a boy, baby, old-baby-man,” he again laughed.

Luke scoffed and threw a cushion at him. “Jerk.”

Calum smirked when an idea popped in his head and, grabbing the cushion that Luke had thrown at him, he stuffed it inside his shirt. “Michael, Michael, I’m pregnant,” he said on a childish tone.

“Stopppp!” Luke whined as he hit him in the arms playfully several times. “I know you’re trying to get my mind off things but sooner or later Michael is going to question me again.”

“The later the better. You’d at least have time to figure things out.”

“But that’s the thing,” Luke paused. “He said he would pick Lily up from school today and I think I can guess why.”

“Shit, you really don’t have time.”

“You’re supposed to give me hope and not make me more anxious than I already am,” the blonde again hit him.

“Look, I know you’re worried about how to tell him, whether you should or not tell him or how he will react but if I was you, I’d tell him. I mean, I’m sure he’ll understand why you did everything. I know Michael that much.”

Luke hummed in response and despite knowing Calum was right, he still could not help those waves of apprehension that were rushing through him. He always knew Michael would understand but like he had mentioned before, how was he supposed to tell someone that he was pregnant as it was, it was not common to come across a pregnant man. Plus, even if Michael understood, was he not going to hate Luke for not telling him? For going away? For dealing with things alone? And most importantly, for keeping his daughter away from him for five years? Either way, nothing was in his favour and he would end up losing Michael in the end. There he was, back on square one, debating whether he should tell him the truth or just cook up another lie, just like he had been doing since he had returned. Why were things always so complicated in his life? Why did something always have to go wrong when everything else was going smoothly and he was happy?

“Luke, don’t go blank on me again,” Calum nudged him.

“I’m not. I was just thinking… Isn’t there a way for me to keep things hidden?”

“How long do you think you can hide it from Michael? Or Ashton? Or everyone else?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ok, I want you to answer me truthfully. Why did you come back?”

“Hmm… because I wanted you guys to be part of Lily’s life, just like you were part of mine while I was growing up.”

“Exactly… and for that, I think some people need to know the truth so that they can give her the love that she deserves and that starts with Michael.”

Luke inhaled deeply. “Maybe I’ll just tell Michael. Then we’ll see later.”

“What about Ashton? He knows there are secrets that you’re hiding and he won’t give up until he finds out.”

“How about one step at a time?”

“Ok, you’re the boss.”

**Later that afternoon…**

Michael quietly drove to Ashton’s house while Lily and Alex were loudly laughing in the back. Two days had passed since Luke had been at his house and things between them was looking better than ever because he knew Luke had sneaked into his room that night but those unanswered questions were still lingering in the air. That was why he was driving to Ashton’s house because Ashton always had the answers to his questions, no matter how weird or stupid they were. He had wanted to ask Luke about them but he did not want to seem too pushy or impatient and he did not want Luke to avert them again. If Luke was not ready yet, he would wait, he could do that; after all, he had been waiting for nearly seven years and a few more days would not hurt. Instead, he was going to satisfy himself with Ashton’s answers.

“Mimi, Lily is not giving me the blue crayon,” Alex whined.

Michael glanced over his shoulder and directed his eyes back to the road. “Use another one.”

“But I want to paint my tree blue.”

“How about green? Trees always look cute in green.”

“But they are my crayon and I want the blue one.”

Michael glanced at Lily, who was smiling and painting, and he sighed. “Lily, honey, can you give Alex that crayon and use another?”

“Yes,” she nodded and handed it to Alex before picking another one.

“Mimi loves me more,” Alex poked his tongue and scratched her drawing.

“Quit it, we’re here,” Michael warned.

Alex opened the door and both he and Lily ran inside the house, leaving everything scattered in the backseat. Shaking his head, he gathered the crayon and the colouring pages before making his way to the front door. “Please tell me I didn’t use to do this too when I was a kid,” he pointed to the messily painted drawings and asked when he saw Ashton in the living room.

“You did, I’m sorry,” he laughed. “Want some coffee? I just made some espresso.”

“Sure, I could use some coffee right now,” he nodded as he followed Ashton to the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

“How is it that you’re the one picking Lily up?”

“Since I’d be picking Alex up, I figured I could pick her up as well and save Luke some troubles,” he shrugged and eyed the other man.

Ashton frowned at that; he knew Michael thought he could fool him but what he did not know was that Ashton could see right through him. No matter what Michael was saying, Ashton could tell the real reason was something else. “Why do you care so much about her? Lily?”

Michael scratched his eyebrow with his thumb and again glanced at Ashton as a smile appeared on his lips. “I don’t know… I just love her. It’s like… there is that connection between us that I can’t explain…”

“Connection?” Ashton let out a loud laugh. “No, there’s no fucking connection. You’re just trying to love her because of Luke, because she’s Luke’s daughter.”

“That’s not true.”

“Fool,” Ashton whispered.

“Whatever…”

They stayed quiet for a couple of minutes before Ashton spoke again. “Stop being creepy. Ask me what you want already.”

“What?”

“Why don’t you ask me what you’re dying to ask me instead of hiding behind your cup and looking at me?”

“This may sound weird but… never mind, it’s not important.”

“Ask anyway. With you and Calum, I’m used to weird.”

Michael laughed. “You’re weirder than us, that’s why you’re used to it.”

“What do you want to ask? Is it about Luke? Is it about Lily? Oh, I know. Since you and Luke are fucking, you want to know if it’ll be weird for Lily to have two dads.”

“Now, you’re being weird. Where is that coming from? And who told you me and Luke are having sex?”

“Calum,” Ashton shrugged. “That’s why he called me to your house on Friday.”

“Oh, come on. Can’t we even have a little bit of privacy?”

“So, you and Luke?”

“No, we’re not… and even if we were nothing would have happened because Calum interrupted us.”

“You motherfuckers could not keep your hands off each other,” Ashton shook his head while laughing.

“I thought you said ‘no swearing’.”

“I can’t help it. Besides, I said ‘no swearing in front of the kids’ and I don’t see mine or yours anywhere near.”

“That’s because I don’t have any.”

“Not for long… once you and Luke get together, Lily will be yours. It’s logic.”

“I thought you didn’t want me and Luke to get together.”

“That was when he just came back and we didn’t know anything about him, if he was still the same or not. But after spending so much time together, I don’t have a problem anymore. I think you guy will still look cute together. Okay, now if we’re done beating around the bush, you can ask me what you wanted.”

“Oh, I love you Ashton,” Michael almost squealed and took a deep breath to calm himself. “Remember that day when we went to the beach? I noticed a scar on Bryana’s stomach and I was just wondering how she got it.”

“That was ages ago, why are you asking me about that now?”

“I don’t know… out of curiosity, I guess.”

“And why were your eyes roaming so low on my wife’s stomach, in places that they should not be?”

“No offense but as beautiful as your wife is, her body parts are not compatible with mine. What’s the scar about?”

“What would you do, knowing it?”

“I told you, out of curiosity,” Michael shrugged.

“Michael, what is it that you are not telling me?” Ashton said on a sterner tone as he knew there were more to things than Michael was telling him.

“I saw one just like that on Luke’s stomach and I wanted to know what it is.”

Ashton burst out laughing, clapping his hands at the same time. “Dude, it’s definitely not the same thing.”

“Why? What’s so funny?” the younger boy asked in confusion. There was nothing funny about the situation; on the contrary, to Michael, it was a rather serious conversation.

“Bryana got hers when Alana was born, she had a C-section. Like I said, not the same thing.”

Michael sighed; he had thought visiting Ashton would have enlightened him but apparently he was wrong. For two days, he had been thinking Ashton would have some answers but it looked like he would have to go home empty handed. Even though he could have sworn the scars looked similar, there were no chances they were remotely close. It looked like no one else other than Luke would have the answers that he desperately needed. Instead of being worry-free, new questions were popping in his head. What kind of accident had Luke been in? How did he even end up hurting himself there? Was it serious? Why was Luke so scared to talk about it? Did he do that to himself? No, Luke had never been prone to self-harm but then again, the Luke Michael used to know would never have left by himself. Why so much mysteries? He wanted to grab on his hair and pull on it because everything was driving him crazy.

“Michael, hey Michael,” Ashton waved in front of him.

“What?”

“I don’t like this. I don’t hear the kids. It’s too quiet.”

“They’re probably playing.”

“Let’s go check on them.”

“Fine, after you mister,” Michael got up and followed the other. “See, I told you it was nothing. They’re only painting.”

Ashton let out a sigh of relief but then his eyes landed on Alana. “Hold me. Tell me I’m not seeing this.”

Michael turned his head to look at what Ashton was looking at and he caught sight of Alana, who was drawing on the wall, same wall that Ashton had painted during the weekend. “Alana come on. You’re gonna give your dad a heart attack,” Michael said and took the crayon from her hand. “I should probably get going. Luke’s waiting. Are you gonna be ok?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I’ll just have to put the crayon away, somewhere they can’t reach.”

“Ok, I’ll see you.”

**Meanwhile…**

Luke was sitting at the round table, leaning on one hand and eating the sandwich that his mom had made while the woman was doing the dishes. For once, it was nice to be sitting and watching someone else do those thing, it felt like old time, like when he was still living at his parents’ house. “Thanks for coming over, mom.”

“Anytime sweetie. Where is Lily? Shouldn’t you have picked her from school already?”

“Huh… Michael said he would and he should be here soon.”

Liz wiped her hands in a towel and, taking a seat at the table next to Luke, she took his hand into hers. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Hmm?”

“Where’s Lily’s mom? Who is she?”

Luke almost sighed; those questions were on the lips of everyone he knew. “Mom, why? Why now? I’ve been here for a while and you never asked me before.”

“I know. That was because I wanted you to settle first and I see that you have. Nice house, car and a good job. You’re a great dad Luke, I couldn’t be more proud of you but doesn’t Lily ask for her mom?”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“She doesn’t now but one day she will. You and I both know that. What are you going to tell her?”

“The truth?”

“What if Lily’s mom decides she want her back? What are you gonna do?”

Luke could laugh at that; Lily’s mom? “She won’t, trust me, she won’t.”

“How can you be so sure? Who is she anyway?”

“Mom, I can’t answer those questions.”

“Why not? I’m your mom, Luke. And I deserve some answers.”

“Can we not talk about this right now?” he asked when he heard a car stop. “They’re here and I don’t want Lily to be hearing these things.”

“Ok but this conversation is not over.”

“I’ll be right back.” he walked to the door and hugged Lily once it was open. “Hey I missed you my little baby,” he smiled as he snuggled her.

“Daddy, it tickles,” she laughed.

“Guess what? Gran is in the kitchen and she made cookies. Go see her.”

“Hi,” Michael smiled and was taken by surprised when Luke pressed his lips to his. “Wow.”

“What took you so long?” he asked as he took Michael’s hand and guided him inside.

“I had to drop Alex first.”

“Too bad I have to go to work tonight. We could have hang out. If I remember proper, we have some unfinished business,” Luke whispered as he moved closer.

“I thought your mom was here.”

“Right, mom,” he nodded. “I’ll see what she’s doing. Be right back.” The moment he stepped in the kitchen, he noticed his mom standing by the sink, with her arms crossed over her chest. “Mom?”

“What’s going on Luke?”

“Where’s Lily?”

“Outside, on the porch.”

“I thought we said we’d talk later.”

“I’m not talking about Lily’s mom. I’m talking about Michael.”

Luke gulped. “Michael?”

“Don’t look at me like you don’t know what I’m saying. So, it’s you and Michael now?”

“You saw?” Luke sighed; he had not even solved one thing in his life and another one was popping up.

“What are you doing with your life? I thought Michael was your best friend. What about Lily? Have you given a thought about her?”

“Mom, ok, don’t freak out. Michael and I, we dated in the past, before I left. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know how to.”

“In the past you were a teenager. Now you have a daughter and you have responsibilities. Did you think about the consequences? Did you think about your daughter? Or are you only thinking about yourself?”

“Mom, I know what I’m doing.”

“I don’t think so. Michael is a guy, how are you ever going to explain things to Lily? Did you think about what she might go through? Will she understand? Now is not the time to think about you, it’s time to think about her. If you can’t understand that, at least Michael should.”

“You’re getting it all wrong.”

“No, Luke, you need to put an end to this before it’s too late.”

The moment Liz said that, Luke heard the front door close and he glared at his mom. “Happy now?”

 


	12. Running Back To You

Luke grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and rushed down the stairs. When things were starting to look bright again and he could see a future for him and Michael, something had to come in between. Although his mom should not have said those things, he could not really blame her because she did not know the complete truth about him and Michael and how Lily was connected to the two of them. Earlier that day, he was worried Michael would come to him seeking answers that he was not ready to give but at that particular moment, that was the least of his concern. All of a sudden, he was scared, scared to lose Michael for a second time and the way Michael had left was doing nothing to reassure him. That was why the moment Michael had left, he knew he had to fix things before they got out of hands and before it was too late. He had made the mistake of leaving Michael once but at that time he was young and immature and right now, things had changed and he knew exactly what he had to do.

“Daddy, where are you going?”

Luke stopped in front of the door, with his hand on the doorknob, before turning to face Lily, who was standing behind him. “I’m… going to work. Stay with grandma, ok?

“Ok, come back soon.”

“I will, I promise. Be my little good girl.” He pressed a kiss to her head and pulled her into a hug before waving at her. His mom was watching him and he knew she knew where he was going but she stayed quiet and he did not say anything either.

**Twenty-three minutes later…**

Luke rang the bell for the fourth time and waited for Michael to answer the door. He knew Michael was home since his car was right there but it seemed like the older boy was ignoring him. Having grown up with Michael, he was aware how Michael was when it concerned others and after what his mom had said, he knew it definitely had an impact on him. Sighing, Luke lifted the doormat to find a key but set it back in place, placed his hands on his hips and looked around when he did not find it. There were lots of pots and the key could be anywhere; knowing the Cliffords for a long time, he was certain Michael had also hidden his spare key in a flower pot. The question was, which one? After a couple of tries, he cursed as he pricked his finger while retrieving the key, unlocked the door quietly and allowed himself inside.

“I’ll have some as well,” he said as he sucked on his index and walked into the kitchen, where the scent of coffee drew him.

“How did you get in? I thought you left.”

“With the spare key that you hid in that stupid cactus. Seriously? A cactus? Couldn’t you have put it in a less dangerous place?”

“That’s kinda the point, right? To put it in a place that people can’t reach,” he said as he poured a second cup of coffee. “Aren’t you supposed to go to work?”

“I am but I have more important things to do. I needed to see you.”

“I’m not running away,” Michael said and took a seat at the table, opposite of Luke.

“You came and you left without saying anything.”

“Huh…” Michael paused as he tried to think of an excuse. “I remembered I had something to do.”

“You’re such a bad liar. I know you left because of what mom said,” Luke sighed.

“She’s right. I was being selfish. Since you came back, I wanted you back in my life and I didn’t once think about Lily, what she would think or feel about everything. I was so caught up with the thought of having you back that I didn’t stop to think about anything or anyone else. I know I love you more than anything in the world but I somehow care so much about her that I don’t want to think about hurting her in any way. Maybe right now she won’t ask about it but what about when she grows up? What will we tell her?”

Luke let out a little laugh at that.

“You’re laughing? I’m serious Luke. You came back, you don’t want to talk about anything. You keep secrets from me.”

“I’m laughing because it’s nice to hear that you thought about us having a very long future together. Please just don’t be mad at me again. I don’t like it when you push me away.”

“I never pushed you away.”

“But you did. You left and you ignored me when I came here and rang the bell countless times.”

“Four times Luke. You only rang four times.”

“It doesn’t matter. Don’t worry about mom. I’ll talk to her.”

“And tell her what?” Michael frowned. “What she said was true. We were only thinking about ourselves.”

“Stop saying that. We were not.”

“I was. I forgot that you are not alone anymore. And maybe you should think about Lily too.”

Luke sighed again. “Lily is my daughter and I know what is right for her. I wish you could trust me. I know I’m not doing anything wrong. I also know that everybody thinks I only care about myself but that’s not true. I care about everybody else. Just give me a chance Michael.”

“I do trust you and I do want to give you a chance but…” Michael trailed off and closed his eyes; those words that Liz said kept ringing in his ears.

“But what?”

“What about Lily? What about all the things that you’re trying to hide from me?”

“I understand your concern for Lily but don’t worry she’ll be fine. She loves you and as for your questions, I’m ready to answer all of them.”

“Ok, I’m listening.”

“Come on.” He took Michael’s hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t feel like talking in the kitchen. Let’s go to a more comfortable place. Say, the bedroom?” Luke smiled cheekily.

Michael raised an eyebrow; he knew why Luke wanted to go to the bedroom but Luke had said he was ready to talk and he wanted to talk first. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Turning around to face Michael, Luke pressed their lips together to prevent him from saying anything else. And although he wanted answers, he kissed Luke back and slowly pushed him backward, until his back hit against the wall. He pulled away slightly and stared into Luke’s eyes for long seconds. He was about to ask him again but Luke whispered ‘I love you’ against his lips and Michael instinctively kissed him again. Taking Luke’s hand into his, he led them up the stairs; he had waited that long to know the truth and waiting a little bit longer was okay with him. Michael knew when he had left Luke’s house he had told himself that he was never going to let anything happen between them again but Luke was kissing him and Luke had told him he loved him: those were the things he had been craving for and he was not going to push Luke away. Besides, Luke had asked him to trust him because he knew what he was doing and Michael would trust Luke in a heartbeat. He laughed when Luke slapped him on the ass and ushered him faster upstairs.

Once they were in the middle of the room, they paused, looked at each other, then at the bed and then smiled when the memories of last time came to them. Biting on his lip, Luke tugged on the front of Michael’s tee so that their chests were pressed together. Instinctively, Michael placed his hands on Luke’s hips to steady them and then slipped one of them under Luke’s shirt, causing him to hiss since his hand was cold. Slowly, he trailed it upward and let his fingers graze Luke’s skin. Luke let out a little moan at that and, taking the hem of Michael’s shirt, he pulled it over his head and dropped it by their feet. He let his eyes roam over Michael’s chest and then pressed his palms flat against it before pushing Michael on the bed and climbing on top of him. Closing his eyes, he bent forward and connected his lips to the side of Michael’s neck. As the clock ticked, the little pecks that he was leaving there turned into impatient open-mouthed kisses and his hand was rubbing Michael’s penis through his jeans. Meanwhile, Michael popped open the buttons of Luke’s shirt and then undid his pants. He slipped a hand into his boxers and lightly tugged on Luke’s dick.

They were having sex for the first time after so long and Michael wanted to take his time to do everything but he was also impatient to go further. He buried his other hand into Luke’s messy hair and thrust upward against Luke’s palm as little whimpers escaped his lips every now and then. When he felt that Michael was hard, Luke moved to a sitting position and he seated himself right onto the other’s erection. He closed his eyes and tilted his head backward as he rocked his hips. The position was quickly turning him on and he could feel himself growing harder with each passing second. However, that was not enough and he completely undressed Michael before leaning in to press a kiss to the head of his penis. Michael’s eyes stayed on him the whole time and as much as he wanted Luke to give him a blowjob, he also wanted to put his hands on Luke. Pulling Luke back up, he flipped them around and after getting rid of Luke’s pants and pulling a bottle of lube from the drawer, he knelt between his parted legs. He locked eyes with Luke and trailed his hand up the middle of his thigh to his balls and then past them to push a finger in him.

Luke squeezed his eyes and moaned loudly; it was the first time in so many years that he was being touched there and it felt just like the first time. He parted his legs even more and arched his back when Michael went deeper and curled his fingers inside. Seeing Luke’s impatience, Michael replaced his fingers with his dick shortly after. He pulled out a little and pushed back inside, moaning at the same time. With each thrust, all the familiar feeling that he had missed during all those years came back to him; Luke’s warmth around his penis felt just as good as he remembered. He claimed Luke’s lips again as his hips moved back and forth at a steady pace. At the same time, Luke took his own erection into his fist and pushed his ass onto Michael’s cock every time the other would thrust forward. He moved his mouth to Michael’s shoulder when Michael slapped his hand away to pump him instead, and he wrapped his legs around Michael’s hips to bring them closer as he also squeezed himself around Michael’s penis. Every time he would thrust forward, Michael would thrust faster; with everything that Luke was doing to him, he doubted he could last much longer.

He pulled back almost all the way and shove his dick back in a swift motion. At the same time, he felt something warm on his hand and he kept pumping him until he got the last drop out of Luke while keeping the movement of his hips steady. It was a matter of seconds before he emptied himself in Luke and pulled out to drop himself next to the other as they both tried to catch their breaths. Michael pulled Luke into an embrace and Luke placed his head onto Michael’s chest and they stayed like that for long minutes.

“You want to know the truth, right?” Luke said after a few minutes.

“Shh… not right now,” Michael mumbled and ran his fingers through Luke’s hair; he wanted to be in that moment a little bit longer before talking.

“Lily’s your daughter,” he stated out of the blue.

“Yeah, if we’re getting together, I guess she will be my daughter,” Michael smiled as he recalled that was what Ashton had told him.

“No, I mean it. She’s your daughter, like for real.”

Michael frowned; he was never involved with a girl, how could Lily be his daughter? “What?”

Luke took a deep breath before speaking again. “A couple of months before leaving, I was feeling sick and I googled my symptoms. Nothing made sense because even though my symptoms matched the condition it told me, it was not possible.”

“What are you trying to say? If you were sick, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wanted to but I was scared. So, like I was saying, I didn’t believe it and Ben insisted I should see a doctor to figure out what was wrong with me. When the reports came and it said that I was pregnant, it was hard to believe but the truth was the truth. I made Ben promise never to tell anyone, unless I was ready to. And I could not tell anyone. What would people think of me? That I was some kind of freak? And you know my parents how old fashion they are. They did not even know I was into guys. How were they going to react to the pregnancy news? That was when Ben told me we had to get away, at least until the baby was born. But if he left with me, everybody would have known because they would have asked why we were leaving. After much convincing, I managed to make him agree and we made it look like I ran away. Ben visited every now and then and he was there when Lily was born. He tried to convince me to come back but I kept pushing it, until I was ready. Then I realised I was being unfair, keeping Lily from you.”

Michael stayed quiet as he tried to process every word that had just come out of Luke’s mouth. Lily was his daughter? Luke was pregnant? It sounded impossible but he knew Luke would never make such a thing up.

“Michael, say something. Please…”

“I don’t know what to say. What about that scar? Was it…”

“Yeah, C-section. Do you hate me now that you know the truth? Do you think I’m a freak?”

“Of course not. I could never hate you. All that happened and you didn’t bother telling anyone? How could you have thought that I would not understand?”

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know what to do and I only did what I thought was right at that time. Trust me, if I was given a chance to do things differently, I would.”

“It wasn’t fair, Luke. Don’t you think I would have wanted to be there with you?”

Luke sighed. “I know but at that time, I thought if you knew, it would destroy everything there was between us. It was stupid of me, I know.”

“Yeah, it was. You should have known me better than this. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me after you left? I felt empty inside, like I was there and breathing but not really alive. I had lost interest in everything and if it were not for Ashton and Calum, who gave me the strength to keep going, I don’t know what would have happened. Even though I was fine, I had never really moved on because deep down, every day I kept hoping you’d come back, that my love would bring you back. Even though so many years passed, I never gave up. And then you came back and you had that wall build around you. Even then, I didn’t give up on you. How could you think I would not understand?”

A tear rolled down Luke’s cheek; he knew he was wrong but at that moment, he felt guilty. Michael did not deserve to go through those and it was all his fault.

“Hey, why are you crying?” Michael asked soothingly.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re back now and that’s all that matters to me. Yes, you should have told me but you were scared and maybe in your place I’d probably have done the same.”

“No, you wouldn’t, you’re Michael and you’re stronger than me. You’d have handled things differently.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Actually I do. I think I know you that much to say that.”

“I love you. I want you to know that.”

“So, you’re not mad at me?” Luke pulled back and looked into Michael’s eyes.

“I am and I should be. You didn’t inform me that I was going to be a parent. You kept my daughter away from me for all these years. You came back and made me believe you met someone else. How can I not be mad? What about giving her a name? You didn’t think I should have had a say in that?”

Luke ignored Michael’s words because he could hear a hint of mischief in his words and he was not really angry. “You did.”

Michael laughed. “I didn’t even know she existed until right now. How can you say that?”

“Remember the last thing you texted me before I left?”

“Huh… don’t go?”

“No, after that?”

“I can’t remember. It was so long ago.”

“It was ‘Luke, I love you’. See, it was all you.”

Michael shook his head. “Only you could come up with something like that. What if you weren’t called Luke? what if you were called Sam? Would you have caller her Sily?”

“Shut up,” Luke slapped him playfully before hugging him tightly. “I love you.”

“I love you too. I just have another question.”

“Yeah?”

“Does Lily know?”

“No, what would I have told her? That daddy is mommy. Maybe we should wait until she’s a bit older.”

“But she has to know. How is she going to call me?” Michael asked excitedly. “Dad? Father? Papa? Daddy?”

“We’ll work on that. How about we settle on Mimi for now?”

“I think I like papa best. Are you going to tell Ashton and Calum?”

Luke bit his lips. “Calum knows…”

“What? You told him and you didn’t tell me?”

“I didn’t tell him. He found out when I was shifting.”

“What about your parents or mine? Are we gonna tell them?”

“Why don’t we just take this slow?” Luke straddled Michael’s hips and smiled down at him. “How about round two for now?”

Smiling, Michael wrapped his hands at the back of his neck and brought him down for a kiss.


	13. Believing In Second Chances

Luke glanced in his rear view mirror and pressed his foot a little harder on the pedal as he sped up. After leaving Michael’s house that night, he had gone back home, only to discover neither his mom nor Lily was there. The first thing that had gone through him was panic, which was followed by fear. Coming home and finding out Lily was missing was not something he had ever anticipated and it gave him a weird feeling in his gut; feeling, which was like the ground was shaking under his feet and he was going to collapse anytime soon. Well, once he was pass that initial shock, he realised she was not really missing because she was with his mom and she was most probably at her house. The next minute, he was back in his car and driving to the familiar house that he had grown up in. Luke knew Lily was safe but that unsettling feeling refused to go and he knew he would only feel better once he had seen her. He had never been in a situation before where he did not know about Lily’s whereabouts and he could tell with conviction that he did not like it one bit. Once there, he stopped the car and rushed inside.

“Where’s Lily?” he asked as soon as he closed the door.

“Upstairs,” Liz said as she kept wiping the plate in her hand. “She’s sleeping,” she added when Luke turned around to exit the kitchen.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were bringing her here? I was so worried.”

“Luke, I’m your mother, I don’t need your permission for anything.”

“Yes but she’s my daughter and I need to know where she is.”

“Your daughter? Didn’t you think about that before going to Michael?” she turned around and looked at him sternly.

“This is still about Michael, isn’t it? Mom, I love him. Why can’t you understand that?”

“I don’t have a problem with Michael but my only concern is Lily. Why don’t you understand how this could affect her?”

“Mom, Michael and Lily get along well. It’s not going to be a problem,” Luke stated.

“A few years ago, you took a decision without informing me or your dad and that decision was not the best. I’m not going to let you take another wrong decision, not when another innocent life is involved. You have to choose Luke; it’s either Lily or Michael.”

“What? You can’t do that. I know you’re my mom but I’m an adult and I know what’s right and wrong.”

“Go home, Luke and think about it.”

“I’m taking, Lily.”

“No, Lily is not going anywhere, not until you’ve made your decision.”

There he was back in his car, leaving like he had come, alone. Luke turned the radio on to whatever channel he found first and chewed on the side of his lower lip as he tried to divert his thoughts away from the fact that he had just been separated from his daughter. When Michael had come to his house that same afternoon, Luke had thought nothing could ever go wrong again and they could finally get past everything and be together again but, there was always a but in his life, things were never that simple for him. He had sorted things out with Michael but the new problem was his mom. He knew his parents were conservative, out-dated even and they would have trouble accepting the fact that he was in a relationship with another guy; although they had never been homophobic. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead with his palm; he had never thought things would reach that far. He had thought life was giving him a second chance and that Michael, Lily and him could be a family but it looked like he was wrong. It seemed like life was constantly testing him and that was yet another obstacle that he would have to face.

Obstacle? His mom? How could his mom do that to him? How could she have asked him to choose between Michael and Lily? They were both integral parts of his life and they were as important as the other. Besides, without Michael, there would not have been Lily. He was both mad at her for not understanding and upset because she was keeping his Lily away from him. Out of all people in the world, she should have understood because Ben had told him how sad and worried Liz had been when he had left; so, why would she do the same to him? Why was she being selfish? Why could she not see that he could not live without either of them? He looked in his rear view when the car behind him beeped and realised he was causing a traffic. He had stopped at a red light and while thinking, he had not realised it had turned green again. He had never been in a situation like that before and he did not know how to handle it. However, the only good thing in all that was that he was not alone anymore and he had Michael, which was where he was going.

“Michael?” Luke ran to the other the moment he entered his house.

“Hey, what happened?” Michael asked as he also wrapped his arm around Luke; the way Luke was holding him tight, he could tell something was off. “I thought you went home. Where’s Lily?”

“She has her.”

“Who has her?”

“She took her away from me and she did not even let me see her. How can she do that?”

“Luke, come here,” Michael walked them to the couch and make Luke sit before dropping on his knees in front of him. He placed two fingers under his chin and made him look at him. “Who has Lily?”

“My mom…”

“Luke,” Michael laughed lightly. “She’s just with your mom. I thought… never mind.”

“She’s not just with my mom. You don’t understand…”

“I’m sure Liz will take good care of her. Just relax a little bit.”

“How can I? She fucking asked me to choose. I’m not allowed to see Lily until I end things with you. It’s just so unfair.”

Michael nodded quietly; that was when he realised how bad things were. He already knew Liz did not approve of him and Luke being together but he did not know she would use Lily to separate them. He had only found out that Lily was his daughter a few hours earlier and he was already losing her. Because of whom? Luke’s mom. He had waited six years for that moment, to re-unite with Luke, and the moment they did, it was already ending. Luke was right, it was so unfair.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? I need you.”

“Hey, don’t worry. We’ll get through this together. I promise. Just trust me.”

“I do,” he wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck and pulled him closer. “But my mom… she’s…”

“Don’t worry about her. Just give her some time and she’ll understand.”

“Yeah but in the meantime, she won’t let Lily come to me or you.”

“We’ll figure something out.”

Pulling away slightly, he pressed a light, but reassuring, kiss to Luke’s lips. Although he had no idea how to go about with things, he still did his best to comfort Luke because that was what seemed right at that moment. Lily was his daughter; he was still trying to digest that fact and his brain was not ready to process anything else. Having been best friends with Luke, Calum and Ashton, Michael knew their parents quite well and he could also tell that it was going to be a tough job trying to explain things to Liz. Liz had always been the toughest out of all their moms and although she had always loved him like a son, he was sure at that moment, what she was feeling towards him was not very positive. He could not blame her entirely though; she was still unaware of the fact that Lily was his daughter as well and maybe if she knew, she would have acted differently. How differently he did not know but she would definitely not have taken Lily from both him and Luke. Lily, his daughter, whom he did not even get a chance to actually meet as his daughter was already far out of his reach. Just when things were getting better, there had to be that bitter twist in reality.

Luke again pressed another kiss to Michael’s lips to bring him out of his thoughts. All that time he had been thinking that it was tough for him but the truth was that it was tough for Michael as well and that was when he realised it; Lily was Michael’s daughter. Even though Michael had not spent as much time with Lily as he had, he knew Michael adored her and that was before the latter even knew Lily was related to him. If there was a way to make his mom understand that he loved Michael and that the three of them could be a happy family, he wanted to find it at once. After so many years of being apart, he was not ready to part ways again, not when they had recently set things right. How he wished his life was a fairy-tale, where everything was perfect and happy. Right, because those things did not happen in fairy-tales either; there were always an evil step-mother or a witch or a curse. Suddenly, his life was not looking so bad. He had Michael by his side and with a little bit of luck and lots of explaining to do to his mom, Lily would be with them too. Thinking about it, which was the easier part, was done, all they had to do was the hard part; waiting for it to happen. Sighing, Luke closed his eyes as Michael rubbed his back soothingly.

**Next afternoon…**

“Hey sleepy head,” Michael smiled when he saw Luke getting down the stairs.

“Hey,” Luke mumbled.

Although Michael had tried his best to reassure him the previous night, he could not help those feeling that were brewing inside of him. After Michael had left for work that morning, Luke had decided to stay in bed because nothing else seemed appealing. He had been tossing and turning, trying to sleep but he was still wide awake, no matter what he did. He wanted to get up but then when he thought there was nothing he wanted to do, he stayed in bed; sometimes staring at the ceiling, sometimes out the window and other times at nothing.

“Wow, you look like you just woke up,” Ashton commented as he took a plate and went through the backdoor.

“I thought some company would make you feel better,” Michael again smiled.

“Thanks, you always know what I need.”

“Come on, we’re on the porch, having a tea party.”

“Tea party?” Luke chuckled but followed Michael nonetheless.

“Someone looks like he has been in bed all day,” Calum laughed.

“I have.”

“Come here,” Ashton patted the chair that was between him and Calum and threw an arm around Luke’s shoulders when he sat down. “Here, have a cupcake.”

“No, don’t have the cupcakes. Ashton make them and they taste like his old socks,” the brunette warned.

“Hey, they are delicious. Anyways, how do you know what my old socks taste like? Have you ever had them?”

“No, but I believe that’s how they’d taste. Here Luke, have a macaron. I got them.”

“No, have a cupcake,” Ashton insisted.

“No, a macaron.”

“Guys, quit it,” Michael shook his head. “I think Luke is very much capable of deciding what he wants to eat.”

“Why are you poking your nose in? We didn’t ask you.”

“How about I have both?” Luke asked from between them and smiled when they both grinned.

“So, what’s the deal? Michael said you’ve been feeling upset.”

“Um… there’s something Luke and I want to tell you about,” Michael said instead.

“What?” Luke looked at him with surprised eyes; the previous night Michael had told him that they had to tell Calum and Ashton but he did not know it was that soon.

“Calum already knows and I think it’s only fair if we tell Ashton as well.”

“What don’t I know? Secrets, kept from me?”

Luke closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t think I can go over that again.”

“It’s ok, I’ll tell him,” Calum proposed.

So, Calum started and Luke shifted and set his chair next to Michael. As the brunette went further into the details, Ashton’s eyes went wide and every now and then he would look back and forth between Michael and Luke a couple of times before turning his attention back to Calum; of course, Calum had a flare for drama and the way he was narrating things made them look far more overwhelming than they actually were. Then he started talking about how he was having doubts about Lily being Michael’s daughter, although it was scientifically impossible but the resemblance was uncanny. Those got Ashton thinking. How did Calum notice those? How come did not realise Lily had eyes like Michael? He was normally an observant person but he had all his attention directed to what was happening and what might happen between Luke and Michael that he had missed out all those. Anyways, like Calum had said, it was scientifically impossible and it was not his fault it had escaped his eyes. Because who in their sane mind would think two guys could conceive? Only Calum, of course.

“There, that’s the whole story.”

“Hmm,” Ashton again nodded. “So, you got pregnant and ran away because you didn’t want anyone to think you’re a freak?”

“Yep.”

“How’s that possible?”

“Well, technically, it’s not scientifically impossible, like Calum said because I had Lily. There are only a few rare cases and I happen to be one of them.”

“Great… but why was that kept from me? When everyone else knew? Why do you guys always do that to me?”

“Dude, I’m her dad and I only found out yesterday. Quit whining.”

“But still, I’m older.”

Calum burst out laughing. “That’s your big argument? You’re older? Wow, Ashton, you never cease to amaze me.”

“Just fuck off. Do you know how annoying you are?”

Ignoring Ashton, Calum turned to Luke. “Why are you upset then, love?”

“It’s my mom. She took Lily and basically asked me to choose between Michael and Lily.”

“Why would she do that?”

“Because she thinks it’s going to affect Lily in some ways. She thinks Michael and Lily would not get along well.”

“And I’m guessing she doesn’t know Lily is Michael’s daughter too,” Ashton added.

“No, she already doesn’t want me and Michael to be together. How will she react when she finds out?”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out and that’s to tell her.”

“Are you crazy, Ashton?” Luke frowned. “She already freaked out when she found out about me and Michael.”

“How did you tell her?” Ashton reached for another macaron and took a bite; although he had brought the cupcakes, he had not touched any of them and every time he would take a macaron, Calum would raise an eyebrow at him.

“I didn’t… she saw us kissing…”

“Hmm...” Calum slouched further down in his chair and lit a cigarette. “I see… you didn’t ease her into things. Now I get why she’s mad.”

“Well, I didn’t want her or my dad or Michael’s parents to know yet but she kinda caught us. What should we do now? I can’t live without Lily and she won’t let me see her.”

“Ashton’s right. We should tell our parents that Lily is my daughter. I’m sure she’ll understand then.”

“I know my mom, she can be stubborn as hell if she wants to and nothing and no one can change her mind. Telling her this right now is not the best thing, trust me.”

“I know just what to do,” Ashton stated.

“What?” three pairs of eyes turned to him and he took a sip of his coffee before smiling.

“Operation Lily.”

“Ashton, this is serious,” Michael rolled his eyes.

“I am serious. Luke, I know what you’re feeling. If someone takes my kids from me, I’ll be upset too. They may be naughty and exasperating sometimes but they mean the world to me and I love them. Hence, we start operation Lily. Since Liz ‘kidnapped’ Lily, we have to get her back.”

“Kidnapped?” Calum snickered. “That’s a pretty strong word.”

“Well, taking someone’s kid slyly is called kidnapping. Anyways, like I was saying, we have to get her from the tiger’s claws. That’s step one. Step two is telling your parents and step three, we all live happily ever after. Who’s with me?” Ashton placed his hand in the middle and looked at the other three.

“Although this sounds like a mad, sci-fi fairy-tale, I’m with you,” Calum said and placed his hand on top of Ashton’s.

Luke looked at Michael with questioning eyes and when the latter nodded, he placed his hand on top of Calum’s. “We’re in.”

“Let’s do this shit.”


	14. Never Felt So Bright

Calum adjusted his sunglasses and waited for a couple more seconds before exiting his car and following the blonde woman. He was parked in front of her house since the morning and was even starting to get bored, sitting in his car and keeping an eye on her house, but luckily, she left and he had slyly followed her to the mall. She walked into a lingerie shop and making a face, Calum halted his steps. Leaving his eyes on the store, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly glanced at it when it rang before again directing his attention to that same shop.

“Yeah?”

“Where are you? Are you still in position?” Ashton asked.

“I’m at the mall.”

“At the mall? Are you fucking nuts? Did you forget what you had to do? It was your turn to keep an eye on Liz’s house today and where are you? At the mall? Seriously? I didn’t expect this from you. You know how important this mission is. I’m really disappointed. Don’t you have any sense of responsibility towards Luke and Michael? Their daughter has been kidnapped. If you didn’t want to show any commitment, you shouldn’t have signed up for this mission.”

“Calm down Ashton,” Michael said.

“What? He was supposed to keep us updated every half hour. He better not fuck this up.”

“Damn it Ashton.” Calum ran his hand through his hair and straightened himself as he again followed her. “Liz is at the mall and I’m currently following her. I’m still on duty, don’t doubt me. And, Lily is with her.”

“Lily?” Luke asked. “How is she?”

“She looks ok.”

“Just ok?”

“I don’t know. I’m not that close to them and I can’t really say. Liz is buying her a balloon. What do you guys want me to do? Keep following her or get back home?”

Ashton hummed. “For now, just keep following her and in the meantime, we’ll come up with a plan.”

“Alright but let me know first.”

“Cool.”

“We have to do something,” Luke said and got up to pace Ashton’s living room.

“We will. Just sit down.”

“But you heard Calum. She’s only ok, she’s not happy.”

“Calum never said that,” Ashton pointed out.

“Yes but we have to get her, today.”

“Luke,” Michael walked to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “Just relax, I’m sure she’s fine and she will be with us very soon. Trust me.”

“But Luke’s right though. We have to get her today. I have a good feeling about today,” Ashton stared into space and nodded. “Let’s go to the mall.”

“And do what?” Michael raised an eyebrow.

“Get Lily? Isn’t that the whole point of this mission?”

“Yeah but how?”

“Let’s get in the car and I’ll tell you.”

“You know I don’t really trust you when you act like this,” Michael said but followed Luke, who was following Ashton.

“What? How long have you known me?” Ashton turned around and made a hurt face.

“Yeah, that’s exactly the reason why.”

“Anyways, back to the important matter, as far as I know Liz, she would not want to make a scene in public. So, we’ll use that as an advantage. It’s as simple as that.”

**A few minutes later…**

“What are you guys doing here?” Calum frowned when he saw the three approach him.

“For the hundredth time, getting Lily,” Ashton sighed.

“Where are they?” Luke asked.

“KFC.”

“Ok, go,” Ashton said while looking at Luke.

“Let’s go.”

Ashton grabbed Michael’s hand and halted him. “I think it’s best if Luke goes alone.”

“But…” Luke bit his lower lip as he looked at Michael.

“No, he’s right. Go and get her, we’ll be here.”

Luke slowly walked to the door of KFC as he bit his lip and thought things over in his head. Back in the car, Ashton had told him what needed to be done but he was still having seconds thoughts. How was he really supposed to do that? And how was his mom going to react? No matter how much Liz was mad at him, she was still his mom and he did not want to do anything to hurt her, or worse, embarrass her. And Lily? He was so eager to see her again. It had been a few days since Liz had taken her away and they were honestly among the hardest days that he had been through. He knew his mom took good care of her but he also knew Lily and she would not be completely happy without him. Just like he could not stay a day without her, he knew it was the same for her. Keeping that in mind, he sped up as he reached the door. The place was quite crowded and Luke looked around himself, trying to spot their familiar heads. With each passing second, his heart was beating faster with the anticipation of holding her tightly in his arms again. Finally, he spotted them in a corner and could not help but smile when he saw Lily licking ketchup off her finger because she always watched Luke do it and she liked to do the same. Taking a deep breath, he walked to them.

“Lily?”

“Daddy…” she smiled brightly before getting off her seat and running to him.

Instantly, Luke dropped to his knees and hugged her. “I missed you so much, Princess.”

“Where did you go? Grandma said you left for work.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t go away. I don’t like it when you are not there.”

“I won’t ever leave you. I promise.” Luke picked her up and turned to Liz. “Hi mom.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I was just here getting lunch when I saw you. I’m taking my daughter. Are you done with your lunch, sweetie?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, go say bye to grandma. We’re going home.”

Back at Luke’s house…

“I can officially say that this was a success,” Ashton exclaimed.

“Yeah, thank you Ashton,” Luke smiled.

“Thank you Ashton? What about Calum? Did you forget that I was posted in front of your mom’s house since the morning? And I followed her around the mall?”

“Thank you too Calum. This would not have been possible without the two of you.”

“Now you guys can see that my plans are always brilliant. You should trust me more,” Ashton stated.

“Not always,” Michael laughed. “Only sometimes.”

“Whatever. I’m just glad Lily is back and I don’t have to see your sulky faces anymore.”

“I think this calls for celebration. Let’s have a party,” Calum said with a huge smile.

“Not yet,” Ashton interrupted. “Your parents need to know.” He looked at Luke and Michael.

“What?”

“That Lily is Michael’s daughter. In my opinion, that will solve all the troubles that you two are facing.”

“I don’t know…”

“Luke, I know what you’re gonna say but don’t you think your mom will understand things better if she knows Michael is Lily’s dad? Maybe that will be one more reason for her to accept that you love him.”

“It’s easy when you say it but it’s actually quite scary to think about it. What if Michael’s parents start acting like mine?”

“You don’t know that. It’s a risk that you have to take.”

“Ashton is right,” Calum nodded. “And if they react positively, at least you’ll know that half the problem is solved. Then maybe Karen will talk to your parents and things will be fine eventually.”

“That’s like my man talking,” Ashton smiles and threw his arm around Calum’s shoulders.

“Thanks for everything guys,” Luke also smiled and wrapped his arm around both of them.

Michael wrapped his arms around the three of them the best he could and let out a happy sigh. “I love you all.”

“Promise me you guys will talk to your parents so we can have that party that I was talking about,” Calum said when they let go.

“We will,” Michael nodded.

“Guess we’ll leave you two then.”

“Yeah, shoo, we need some family time together,” Michael said as he opened the door.

“Calum? Do you think we can take Lily along?” Ashton teased. “We’ve missed her too.”

“Shut up. Go. Get lost.”

Michael walked back to the living room and leant against the wall with a smile as he watched Luke, who had Lily in his lap; his Luke and their daughter. Almost seven years ago when Luke had left, Michael had only wanted one thing: to get Luke back. Now, Luke was back and he was not alone, they had a daughter and Michael could not have felt happier. He could finally understand why he had always felt so close to Lily and why he had always felt so much love towards her; that was because she was a part of him. His smile grew wider as he thought about it. Lily was his daughter. During the past years, he had been looking after Ashton’s kids but he had never thought of having kids of his own or being a parent but the fact of being a dad was exciting and overwhelming, all at the same time. He was told he had a daughter and before he could officially meet her, she was taken away from him. However, she was finally in front of him and he did not really know what to do; was he supposed to hug her and try to make up for all the time that he had missed or just act casual? There was also the fact that he had promised Luke not to tell Lily anything yet.

He walked to them when Luke motioned for him to come over. “Hey.”

“Mimi…” Lily smiled.

“Come here,” he said and pulled her into his lap. “Did you have a good time at grandma’s?”

“Yes grandpa tells me stories every night and he gave me daddy’s old toys.”

“What else did you do?”

“We watched cartoon. Grandma made strawberry pie.”

“Strawberry pie? How about pizza today?”

“I love pizza.”

“And I love you,” Michael pulled her into a hug and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

Smiling, Luke wrapped his arms around both of them. “Who wants ice-cream?”

“I do,” Lily said excitedly.

“Yeah, me too. I’m starving actually.”

“Ok, three ice-creams on the way.”

“Mimi, will you stay today?”

“I don’t know. Do you want me to?”

“Please stay. We can go to ride bicycles. Daddy got me a new one.”

“You know how to ride it?”

“No, daddy always holds me because I fell.”

“Alright, I’ll teach you how to.”

**Later that night…**

“I’m exhausted...” Michael groaned as he dropped himself backward onto Luke’s bed.

Luke laughed as he looked at Michael. “You ought to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’ve been trying to teach Lily how to ride her bike for more than an hour. Then you guys have been running around the house and backyard for the rest of the afternoon. That’s what you get for being an old man who is not used to these.”

Michael sat up and frowned. “Old man? Who’s the old man?”

“You are.”

“I’m only twenty-five. The only reason I’m tired is because I’m trying to catch up with the six years that I’ve missed out on.”

“You should take it slow because I promised we aren’t going anywhere this time.”

“Yeah, I know. When do you think we can tell her?”

“Who?”

“Lily? That she’s my daughter?”

“Michael, come on. We’ve already talked about this. We’ll tell her when she’s a bit older and can understand.”

“But when? I want her to know. You already kept her away for six years and now you have to tell her. After today, I don’t want to wait any longer. I want her to know.”

“No… we are not telling her and that’s it.”

“Why not?”

“Because… just… I don’t know Michael. This is not the right time.”

“Please Luke? She’s smart. She will understand.”

“She’s my daughter and I know what’s best for her.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Michael sternly.

Michael stood up and mimicked the action. “She’s my daughter too and she deserves to know it.”

“End of discussion.”

“No, this discussion is not over until you say ‘yes’ and we can go all night if you like.”

“Michael, please. Why are you being so adamant?”

“I’m not. You are.”

“Stop it, Clifford.”

“You stop it, Hemmings.”

“Daddy?”

“Yes, sweetheart. Aren’t you sleeping yet?”

“You didn’t tell me my story.”

Poking his tongue at Luke, Michael walked to Lily and picked her up. “How about I tell you a story today?”

Luke sighed and shook his head was they walked away. He picked a clean shirt from the stack on his bed, folded it and set it on the mattress before taking another one. As much as he wanted to tell Lily that Michael was her dad, he was apprehensive about it. How would she take it? The least he wanted to do was to confuse her. He had not expected things to go at that rate: his mom knowing, telling Michael, telling Ashton and Calum. He had intended to take things slow and gradually ease everybody into it but things just happened on their own. It was not like he did not want to tell Lily, in fact, he wanted her to know but he was scared; he did not want her to hate him. And Michael? He was being so stubborn, he always was, Luke knew that but why could he not understand? Luke could not even be mad at him because he loved him too much. Again sighing, he kept the clothes in his closet and climbed under the blanket.

Michael hummed happily, closed the door behind him but frowned when he looked at the bed. Did he overreact and Luke was mad at him? He had not meant to be pushy or anything but he only wanted Lily to love him like she loved Luke. Michael sighed; if Luke was not ready, then he would have to wait. He tossed his shirt on the chair and eased himself under the blanket as well. He turned off the lamp and closed his eyes but opened them again when Luke shifted and trailed a hand down his chest.

“Hey, you’re not mad at me?” he asked as he halted Luke’s hand.

“Shh…”

That was all that was said and the next moment, Luke’s lips were already on top on his. Without breaking the kiss, Luke threw the blanket away and settled on Michael’s hips. Then, he trailed his kisses from Michael’s mouth to the side of his neck while rotating his hips in a slow motion. Instinctively, Michael placed his hands on Luke’s waist and trailed them lower, only to raise an eyebrow when he realised Luke was not wearing anything. However, that was quickly replaced by a smile when he realised Luke was still as cheeky as he used to be when they were teenagers. He licked his lips and trailed one hand up Luke’s back before moving it back down to stop at his crease. He moved his hand lower and circled Luke’s hole with his middle finger, causing Luke to moan against his neck. Taking things further, Michael wriggled his fingers against Luke’s entrance, slightly pressing the finger against it, and chuckled when Luke let out a gasp. Luke pulled away from where he was sucking on Michael’s skin and slapped the other’s hand away before pecking his lips. He then placed a light kiss to his chin, another one to his chest and one to his belly button as he settled on his knees between Michael’s legs.

In a swift motion, Luke pulled Michael’s shorts and boxers down his legs and wrapped his fingers around Michael’s penis. He glanced up when Michael turned on the lamp and, looking straight into Michael’s eyes, Luke leant forward and enclosed his lips around the head. Michael hissed when Luke’s mouth moved down the underside, to his balls to suck on them while his hand kept jerking him off. He thrust into Luke’s fist a couple of times but Luke placed his hand on his hip to hold him still. However, when Michael kept thrusting upward, Luke pulled away. He pulled a bottle of lube from under his pillow, coated Michael’s erection and sat back on his hips.

**At Ashton’s house…**

Calum raised a hand to ring the bell but stopped midway when he realised that it was quite late and instead, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Ashton.

_‘are you having sex???’_

_‘what? No’_

_‘open the door then… quick…’_

Despite having told Ashton to be quick, it seemed like the other was taking an eternity to get downstairs and let him in. “What took you so long?”

“What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” the brunette said as he walked inside.

“I was half-asleep and I was naked…”

“So, you did have sex?”

“No,” Ashton chuckled. “Just because I sleep naked doesn’t mean I had sex.”

“How would I know? I was only asking. Besides, how long does it take to wear a pair of undies? Inside out, I should add.”

“Stop checking me out?”

“I’m not. I was just saying. It was an observation. Why did you even bother wearing them? It’s nothing I’ve never seen before.”

“What’s with all those irrelevant questions?”

“You’re right, back to business. I’ve been thinking about what I said before and I can’t get it out of my head.”

“And what did you say before? If I may ask?” Ashton raised an eyebrow.

“I was getting to that part but you interrupted me. We deserved that party. I mean, we’ve worked so hard to get Lily back and don’t you think the least we need is a celebratory toast?”

“Followed by tons of booze you mean?”

“Well, obviously,” the brunette laughed.

“Yeah, but Luke, Michael and Lily deserve to spend time together. Didn’t you hear Michael? They need family time.”

“Yeah, I know and I understand but they had all afternoon for that. Plus, Lily is probably asleep at this time and we won’t be disturbing.”

“Umm… I don’t know.”

“Oh come on Ashton…” Calum whined. “Please, please, please.”

“What if Luke doesn’t have drinks at home?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all covered,” he grinned sheepishly.

“You sneaky motherfucker.”

“Come on, don’t you love me one bit? You know you’ll have fun.”

“Fine. Give me five, I need to change.”

**Back at Luke’s house…**

Luke pressed his forehead to Michael’s and looked into his eyes as he was moving up and down onto Michael’s cock. “I love you so fucking much.”

“I love you too,” Michael whispered back before pecking Luke’s lips.

“Surpri…” Calum almost shouted but his jaw dropped open at the sight. “Holy shit.”

“What the…” Luke tried to reach for the blanket but realised he had thrown it to the floor earlier.

“Guys, get out!” Michael pleaded and grabbed a pillow to hide his penis that was still in Luke’s ass.

“You guys have five minutes. We’re waiting downstairs,” Ashton stated as he pulled Calum out of the door with him.

“Did you see their faces? It was fucking hilarious,” Calum laughed and dropped himself on the couch.

“Luke’s dick though, bouncing in the air,” Ashton laughed too.

“I know… We embarrassed them, didn’t we?”

“Yep but that’s what friends are for. And now, we’re never gonna let them see the end of that.”

“Do you think I can open the whiskey by the time?”

“Nope, we wait but you can get some glasses in the meantime.”

“Mean. What’s taking them so long?”

“Their hardons, what else? They’re fucking, what did you expect?” Ashton shook his head.

“What? Really?” Calum sighed in exasperation before bouncing his foot impatiently. “Ashton? Entertain me.”

“How? What do you want me to do?”

“How about a striptease?” Calum said on a teasing tone but burst out laughing when he saw the look on Ashton’s face. “Chill, I’m just fucking with you.”

“You’re fucking delirious. What did you smoke or drink?”

“Bitch!”

“Aha! Little Calum is horny and now that he’s seen his two best friends fucking he’s hornier.” Ashton shifted next to Calum and poked him in the ribs continuously.

“Shut the fuck up! Now, you’re being delirious and I think I know the reason why. Bryana didn’t let you fuck her.”

“Bullshit!”

“Yeah exactly, bullshit.”

“Calum? Hey Calum?”

“What?”

“You’re not gonna start sulking, are you? I thought you wanted to party.”

“I don’t talk to you.”

“Aww, come on. You know I love messing with you because I love you the most.”

“Liar. You love Bryana the most and then your kids, then your mom, then your brother and sister, then maybe Luke and Michael and lastly, me.”

“Why don’t you two kiss already?” Luke laughed as he got down the stairs.

“Here comes the bunnies,” Ashton stated with a laugh.

“What took you so long?”

“Well, every time we can’t stop in the middle because of you guys,” Luke shrugged.

“Every time? I fucking knew it. You guys were fucking last time at Michael’s house.”

“What are you two doing here at this time?” Michael asked as he also got down the stairs.

“Well, Calum wanted to party and practically dragged me out of bed to come here.”

“I didn’t drag you. You agreed that we needed to celebrate that first victory. Anyways, whiskey anyone?” he asked as he opened the bottle and filled the glasses.

“Cheers to you guys for finally getting together,” Ashton smiled and raised his glass.

“Thank you,” Luke said as he also raised his glass.

“And congrats Michael. You’re officially a dad,” Calum added.

“Hell yeah,” Michael laughed.

 


	15. Take Another Shot

When Michael stopped the car in front of that familiar house that he had grown up in, Luke’s heart started pounding against his rib cage. After long hours of debating, arguing, not agreeing with each other and trying to make the other see things from their own point of view, Luke and Michael had finally decided to give what Ashton had said a shot. They had decided to talk to their respective parents about them being together and that Lily was their daughter; of course, Luke had been all reluctant at first, trying to convince Michael otherwise, but in the end, Michael had managed to make him change his mind. They had met Michael’s parents earlier that day and had told them everything. The room had fell silent for a few minutes and Luke could swear those were the longest seconds of his life. He had felt more scared than ever and instantly regretted listening to Michael. However, when Karen had hugged both him and Michael, he had let out a breath that he, himself, did not know he had been holding. That had given him some courage to face his parents and that was why they were in front of their house.

“Ready?” Michael asked as he placed a hand on Luke’s thigh.

“Yeah, I guess so…”

“Come on.”

Luke reached out and held Michael’s wrist when the other turned to open the door. “Maybe I should go in alone. I mean, things have not been going great with my parents and… they would be more reluctant to listen to us if we go together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Luke smiled. “I know what I have to tell them. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.”

Michael nodded and Luke got out of the car. He might have acted all confident in front of Michael but the closer he was getting to the door, the faster his heart was beating. If it was up to him, he would have run away from there but he had promised Michael they would try; after all, it was not just about them, it was also about Lily. He knew what his mom still thought about him and Michael because she had called him several times in the last three weeks and tried to convince him to change his mind but he was just as stubborn as she was and he stood his grounds. Of course, Michael knew none of those because Luke thought it would complicate things and that was the least they needed. Repeating ‘I can do this’ over and over in his head, he took a deep breath and opened the door. He spotted his dad in the living room and Luke could not help but walk to the man and hug him. He let out a sigh of relief when his dad wrapped his arms around him and patted his back. That action instantly gave Luke hope; he knew that no matter what, things would eventually get better.

“Are you alright buddy?” Andy asked when Luke pulled away and looked at him.

“I guess so. Hmm…”

“Luke… s’up? Where’s Lily?” Jack smiled and hugged him.

“Hey, she’s with Ashton. What are you doing here?”

“I don’t know… mom said to come over and that you have something important to say.”

“Did she? Where’s Ben?” Luke looked around, hoping he was there too; since Ben knew Luke’s truth, it would be easier if he was there.

“So, you’re here.” Liz said and crossed her arms over her chest. “I hope you have considered what I have said. I’m your mom and I know what is best for you and Lily.”

“What’s going on here?” Jack frowned. “Is everything ok?”

“Well, ask your brother. He’s hell bent on making all the wrong decisions.”

“I’m not making any wrong decision. Actually, I’m doing what I should have done a long time ago. There is something that I need to tell you about. A few years ago, Michael and I… we were together, for a few years. I didn’t tell you guys because I didn’t know how you’d react,” Luke said when three pairs of eyes looked at him with confusion. “Then one day, something happened… something very unusual. I found out that I was pregnant. I know it sounds odd but it happened. I was so scared. I didn’t know what to do, who to talk to. I didn’t even tell Michael and I just left because I didn’t want anyone to think I’m weird. Then Lily was born. I gave her everything I could but I realised I was keeping her away from what she deserves. So, I came back. Here’s the thing… Lily is Michael’s daughter.”

“This is ridiculous,” Liz exclaimed.

“Mom, it’s true.”

“I know that you want to be with Michael but I didn’t know you would cook up such an absurd story for that. You can’t use Lily, she’s just a baby.”

“I’m not using her. I never would. This is the truth,” Luke sighed.

“You know, what you’re saying is not possible.”

Luke looked at his mom; he did not know how to convince her that he was not making things up. “Mom…”

“Did you think you could come here and fool us? This is ridiculous. Andy, why don’t you say something?”

Luke turned to look at his dad. “Dad, I’m not lying.”

“I know you wouldn’t lie to us but what you’re saying…”

“Come on, Dad…”

“Enough Luke,” Liz interrupted. “Did Michael put you up to this?”

“No… You know what?” Luke shook his head. “This has been a very bad idea. I shouldn’t have come. If you don’t believe me, maybe you should go and ask Ben. He knows everything.” With that said, Luke rushed outside and took a deep breath.

“Lukey, wait,” Jack called after him.

“What?”

“Is it true, what you said inside?”

“Jack, you know me better than anyone else. Do you think I could come up with such a thing to say? Do you think I’d argue with mom for no reason? Do you think I’m a liar?”

“Of course not. I believe you, even if it’s hard to believe. I don’t know why but I do.”

“Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“You know I’m always there for you, lil bro. And don’t worry about mom. Just give her some time. She’ll come around.”

“Ok, I’ll see you. Gotta pick Lily up.”

Michael bounced his foot impatiently and the moment Luke entered the car, he turned to him. “How did it go?”

“Let’s go home,” Luke simply said.

**One month later**

“Lily, get back here,” Calum laughed as he chased after her. “That is my Lego piece.”

“No, it’s mine,” she giggled and ran around the dining table.

“Hey, be careful,” Luke said when she bumped into him. “Calum, watch her,” he added when he saw all the toys that were scattered on the floor.

“She’s fine Luke. Go do your thing.”

“Uncle Cal, give me all the Lego. You’re too big to play with them.”

“Too big? I’m never too big. You’re the one who’s tiny.” He pulled her into a hug and tickled her.

“Nooooo” she let out a big giggle. “Daddy, look at uncle Cal.”

“Your daddy cannot save you from the monster. I’m going to eat all of your hair and your little fingers…” he said on a funny tone and laughed.

“Calum, stop it,” Luke laughed along.

“Where’s Michael?”

“Working. He’ll be here later.”

Taking that as an opportunity, Lily bit on Calum’s hand and ran away from him. “You’ll never catch me, mister monsta.”

“I’m going to find you. I can smell little angels. You cannot hide from me. Rawr!!!”

Lily poked her tongue at him and ran into the living room. “I’m going to hide. Come and find me.”

“Where did she go?” Calum asked and also walked into the living room. “I wonder if she’s under this pillow.” He lifted the pillow and Lily snickered from behind the couch. “Where could she have gone?” he asked, despite knowing where she was. Quietly, he walked around the couch and picked her up. “Gotcha.”

“Please mister monsta don’t eat my hair.”

“Then I’m gonna eat your little fingers.” Calum took one of her hands and pretended to be eating her fingers.

“Nooo,” Lily whined and balled her hand into a fist. “You ate my fingers.”

Calum laughed at that and put her down. “Run or I’m gonna eat your other fingers. Hahaha.”

Luke set the plate that he had washed onto the rack and wiped the counters. He turned around to see Lily running towards him. “Hey, sweetie.”

“Daddy, your phone. It’s grandma.”

“Just keep it there, I’ll talk to her later.”

“Are you fighting with grandma?” she looked at him with questioning eyes.

He took her in his arms and walked into the living room. “No… why would you say that?” he took a seat and set her in his lap.

“You were shouting on the phone when she called the other day and she doesn’t come to see me.”

“No… honey… we’re not fighting. We’re just having an argument, that’s all.”

“What’s an argument?”

Calum leant against the wall and laughed when Luke scratched his head.

“Hmm…” Luke sighed. “It’s when two people cannot agree on one thing. Daddy wants to do something but grandma doesn’t want him to. Then we’re angry and we don’t want to talk for a little while but we’re not fighting.”

“Just like when I want to wear my princess dress and you don’t want me to.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Ok, I’m going to play with uncle Cal. I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too, baby. And tell your uncle Cal that he’s going to clean up all these toys before he leaves.”

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,” Calum said nonchalantly.

“No, that’s decided. Every time you come here and leave, I have to clean up the mess you make. Last time I found a doll in the cabinet in the kitchen.”

“We were playing hide-and-seek with the dolls,” Calum protested.

“You’re not five, you’re twenty-five.”

“I’m never too old to play. Besides, I’m a child at heart.”

“I don’t care, get cleaning.”

“Did you talk to your mom?” Calum asked, immediately changing the subject when Lily was out of sight.

“No… I don’t even know what to say anymore because every time she calls, she says the same thing. Get away from Michael.”

“You know, I think…”

“Uncle Cal, come on,” Lily took his hand and tried to pull him towards the stairs.

Following her, Calum turned his head to the side and looked at the living room. He bent down and whispered to her. “Hey, I have an idea. Do you want to go out?”

“Yes,” Lily nodded excitedly.

“Hey Luke? I’m taking Lily out.”

“Oh no. I can see what you’re doing here.”

“Do you? I’m trying to make Lily happy.”

“No, you’re trying to get away from cleaning.”

“Shut up. I’m not. Lily wants to go out. Don’t you, pumpkin?”

“Yes, daddy please.”

“Ok fine but don’t come back too late.”

Luke let out a sigh and grabbed the toy basket; as much as he loved having Calum around, sometimes, he could be a little too much to handle. Whenever the brunette start playing with Lily, it was like a storm had passed through his house. There would be toys everywhere and the pillows in the living would be scattered on the floor; all those left for Luke to clean up. He raised an eyebrow when the bell rang and he wondered why Calum and Lily were back because it had not even been ten minutes since they had left.

“Mom?”

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course. Sorry, it’s such a mess… Calum and Lily,” he pointed to the Legos.

“Where is she? I brought her cookies.”

“They just went out.”

Liz hummed. “I talked to Ben. He told me you were speaking the truth. But I still can’t believe it.”

Luke was about to smile but then his mom said she did not believe and it was like nothing had progressed. “Mom, I don’t want to fight with you anymore. I miss you.”

“We don’t have to fight anymore. If only you quit your stubbornness…”

“I’m not being stubborn. Michael is part of my family. He’s my daughter’s dad.”

“You should stop saying that.”

“I can’t because it’s the truth. If only you could accept it, things would get so much easier.”

“This is beyond me Luke. A boy cannot get pregnant and that’s all I know.”

“Just wait here.” Luke scoffed as he walked up the stairs; ‘a boy cannot get pregnant’. Where did Lily come from then? She did not magically appear to him or Santa(Dumbledore) did not drop her on his doorstep in a basket. He wished his mom would stop saying that and there was only one way to prove her wrong; his pregnancy report. Shortly after, he walked back downstairs, with the file in his hand. “Here. It says everything.”

Liz quietly flipped through the pages, her eyes widening as she kept reading. “This is impossible.”

“But it’s true.”

“You went through all of this alone?”

“Technically no. Ben used to visit as often as he could.”

“Oh Luke,” she walked to him and pulled him in her arms. “My baby, why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was so scared… I didn’t say a word to anyone, not even to Michael.”

Liz sighed at the mention of Michael. “The report doesn’t say anything about Michael.”

“I know but he’s been the only one in my life, always has been. He’s Lily’s dad.”

“How can I know for sure?”

“Because I’m telling you and you have to believe me. Please mom. Just look at her. She’s just like Michael.”

“Maybe just the eyes,” she laughed.

“I love you, mom.”

Liz pulled him into another hug; she had not talked to him properly in two months and she had to admit she had missed him too. “I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you.”

“Don’t be. You were just… I don’t know… being a mom.”

“Come home for the weekend. Bring Michael and Lily.”

“I will, definitely.”

Luke let the warmth of the woman engulf him; he had never felt happier while hugging his mom. She had finally agreed as hard as it was to believe. After months of arguments, riffs and sour faces, she was finally hugging him and the best part was that she no longer had a problem with Michael. If Luke was honest with himself, at times, he did give up hope that things would ever be alright and they would be a big happy family; although his dad, Ben, Jack, Michael, Calum and Ashton would reassure him, he would only believe them for a little while. He had no idea things would get sorted out so soon and he was glad they did. His mom had invited them for the weekend. He was overjoyed to hear that and he knew that would make Michael’s day as well. For the first time since he came back, it felt like nothing could ever go wrong again.

**Five months later**

Luke walked to the window and then back to the couch before checking the time again. He had been waiting for Michael for the past hour because he wanted to talk to him about something important but Michael was late. He swallowed and went over things in his head. There were tons of possibilities as to how he would tell Michael but what he was not sure about was how Michael would react. Luke was excited and nervous at the same time; he also knew he was going to go crazy if Michael did not arrive soon. He took a seat on the couch but got up again when he heard a car. He then walked to the door to open it before Michael could.

“What a pleasant surprise,” Michael smiled and pressed a kiss to his lips.

“Yeah, I was waiting for you and I guess I couldn’t wait any longer. Come on, get in,” Luke urged.

“Ok… what’s going on?”

Luke only leant in and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Michael, there’s something that I need to tell you. For the past weeks, I’ve been feeling weird and kinda sick…”

“Sick? Why didn’t you tell me? Did you see a doctor?”

Luke laughed. “Not that kind of sick. It’s really not serious and I know that because it has happened before. We’re gonna have a baby.”

Michael stared at him. “What?”

“I’m pregnant. Aren’t you happy?” Luke asked when Michael still did not blink.

“Omg,” Michael wrapped his arms around Luke’s waist, lifted him off his feet and spun him around.

“Hey, put me down.”

“Sorry. Luke, you’re pregnant. I’m gonna be a dad, again. I can’t tell you how happy I am. This is so awesome. Come on, let’s go.”

“Where?”

“To your house. I mean, we have to get your stuffs. You’re staying here from now on. No arguments,” Michael said when Luke opened his mouth. “I want to go through it with you this time.”

“Michael calm down,” Luke laughed.

“I can’t. Lily is gonna have a little sister or brother. Do you think she’ll be happy? What am I saying? Of course she’ll be happy. We have to tell her.”

“Babe, she’s sleeping. You can tell her later, ok?”

“Fuck! We have to tell everyone.”

“Yeah, we do but that can wait too.”

“Oh, I love you, Luke. You make me the happiest.”

“I love you too, silly.”

 


	16. It Always Will Be You

Luke let out a happy sigh; finally, everything had fitted in their places. Almost three years ago, he had come back to the place where he had grown up in and at that time, there was only him and Lily. Now, the family had expanded and was complete. Even though he had left Michael heartbroken years ago, that did not stop Michael from loving him and it was that same love that had brought them back together. To be honest, the moment he had set foot in that place again, he had thought no one was would accept him or talk to him, especially Michael, but he was glad he had been wrong. He was not going to lie; it had been a tough journey but it was totally worth it. He could not have been happier as everyone was gathered at his house, the house that he shared with Michael, to celebrate Eric’s first birthday. Yes, Eric was the name of the baby boy who had brought everyone closer; unlike when he had been pregnant with Lily, that time Michael was there with him, his parents were there with him and his best friends were also there with him. Luke smiled as he poured the milk into the bottle and walked outside.

“Daddy, can I feed him?” Lily asked with a smile.

“Ok but be careful and don’t spill on your dress.”

“There you are. You know how long he has been waiting for his milk?” Michael said as he took the bottle from Luke.

“I got carried away in my thoughts. I mean, can you believe it? A year has passed already.”

“Yeah, it’s been the most amazing year of my life. I mean, I have two kids. Who knew that would happen?”

“Yeah and you’re growing old Michael,” Ashton laughed from behind him.

“Talk for yourself old man. Where’s Calum?”

“He’s running late. He said he was getting a gift for the baby.”

“As always, Calum is running late.”

“I’m not, I’m right here. Where is my cute little baby?” the brunette instantly took him from Michael and hugged him to his chest.

“Uncle Cal… I was feeding him,” Lily whined.

“Sorry pumpkin. That’s a beautiful dress you’ve got there.”

“Everyone’s here,” Luke stated. “Shall we cut the cake?”

Everyone gathered around the table and they all sang and cheered as Michael helped Eric blow the candles and then cut the blue cake. Luke smiled when Liz hugged Michael before taking Eric from him and he walked to the older boy before wrapping his arms around his waist. Instantly, Michael placed a kiss to his forehead and hugged him back.

“Thank you for being the best person in my life. I couldn’t have found anyone better,” Luke smiled.

“Me neither and thank you for giving me these two bundles of life. The past two years have been incredible.”

“Yeah…” Luke nodded. “I think telling Lily that you’re her dad must have been the highlight.”

They both let out a little laugh as they thought back to that day because they had decided it would be best if Lily knew about Michael before knowing that she would be getting a little brother or sister. So, Michael and Luke had spent a whole week trying to come up with the simplest way to tell her. They had had it all figured out but when Lily had finally been sitting on the couch opposite of them, they had seemed to have been at a loss for words. It had been a pretty hilarious scene and neither of them were getting to the point and were only turning around in circles. After a long conversation, in which they were getting nowhere, Luke had finally said it. Lily had looked at them both with confused eyes but they had explained it to her in the end, even if it had taken long awkward minutes to explain how she had two dads. Eventually, she did not seem to be bothered by that fact and she had been happy to call Michael dad as well.

“I’m sorry. I should never have left. It was…”

“Shh…” Michael pressed a finger to his lips. “We should forget about that and be happy that we found each other again. I had loved you, I love you now and I will love you forever. It always will be you.”

“I love you too and you’re turning me emotional.”

“Guys that was so sweet,” Calum said and, as they turned to look at him, he hugged them both. “I think I’m gonna cry.”

“Group hug,” Ashton said out loud and wrapped his arms around them. “Luke, please, no more running away.”

“I’m not going anywhere this time. I have everything I need here.”

“Come on let’s get a picture with the kids, this is a perfect moment to capture.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and commenting and kudosing xx


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